Symphony of the Hunter's Moon
by Hector Enix
Summary: Mana and Kira Avaron are the daughters of Naruto Hellsing Avaron, the No-Life King. This lovely little number is a look into their lives, as well as the life of Kasumi Uchiha, the woman they love. Sequel to Aria of the Moonless Night, 25 years after.
1. The No Life Twins

Hello once more, my Freaky Darlings! It's good to see you all again!

There won't be a prologue to Symphony of the Hunter's Moon, but it will instead have most of the 25 year gap explained throughout the first couple of chapters.

That's right, there's a **25 year gap** between the last chapter of Aria and this. KEEP THAT IN MIND!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Whedabra, Mana, Kira, and all other Ocs are mine.

* * *

><p>The night was still as could be expected, and the full moon cast a silver light over the forest. The single break in the canopy came from something rarely encountered in the ninja world: A medieval style castle. It was a truly imperious edifice, towering above the massive trees and overlooking much of the forest; the few who were allowed entrance found that over half of the castle was found in the sprawling dungeon beneath the surface.<p>

A single figure stood atop the northwestern turret, looking over the forest towards the walls of the ninja village of Konoha that were barely visible in the distance. Well, to human eyes; to his eyes, the eyes of a Nosferatu, the walls and village were clearly visible.

He was nearly eight feet in height, with long hair falling to his waist, which bore a unique coloration; there were so many streaks of crimson and silver that it was impossible to tell which was his real hair color. His torso was covered by a black tunic, and his lower half covered by black trousers. A crimson tenchcoat went over said tunic. Riding boots covered his feet.

"Contemplating the universe again, love-o-mine?", a childish voice called from behind him. He turned with a light smile to face the owner of the voice.

She appeared to be a young girl, no older than nine or ten, with white hair that fell to her waist. Obsidian eyes, full of amusement, regarded the vampire as she walked over to him. Save for the hair that cascaded over her shoulders to cover her nipples, she was nude.

"Something like that.", the vampire replied, opening the trenchcoat slightly so that she would have an easier time getting inside; it was rather chilly tonight. Neither was effected by the cold, but it was the gesture that they indulged in. "How are you, Whedabra?"

The girl shrugged, entering the trenchcoat before wrapping her arms around his leg and snuggling in.

"You know, you're too tall. I miss hugging your waist.", she complained, giving her husband a firm smack on the ass. "Naughty."

"I'm naughty because I'm taller than you?", he countered, wry smirk spreading across his features.

"Meh, I mainly wanted an excuse to smack your ass.", the darkness spirit admitted. The vampire laughed.

"We've been together for twenty-five years; I don't know if you need an excuse at this point.", he replied, still laughing. Whedabra giggled.

"Yeah, and it took you that long to warm up to my "sexual behavior" in this form, right Naruto?", she countered, poking his side to annoy him.

"Evening.", another female voice called from behind the pair. Naruto smiled over his shoulder at the approaching demoness.

She was a little shorter than Naruto, with silken, crimson hair that flowed down to just below her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a bloody crimson with vertical pupils, and her face was sharp and bore an almost predatory feel when gazed upon. She wore a crimson kimono that went to her ankles, exposing her bare feet; the kimono itself had a hole in the back for her nine fox-tails.

"Good evening, Tsukiko.", Naruto greeted, putting an arm around the demoness when she neared. She was still rather slow in leaning into the embrace, but did eventually put her head on his shoulder, being careful with the placement of her fox ears. Twenty five years had taught her the joys of such simple embraces, though her time in a world where there was no real affection between mates had left her somewhat stunted in terms of romance.

"Evening fuzzy!", Whedabra greeted from the other side of their husband, waving. Tsukiko growled lightly, though she knew that the term was now one of endearment as opposed to the insult it had been years ago.

"The girls are asleep; Kira may be getting sick though.", Tsukiko informed them, "I swear that the girl doesn't have the demonic immunity just yet."

Kira was Tsukiko's daughter; half Kitsune, half vampire. She resembled her mother a great deal, though the tips of her ears and tails were more silver than white, and her face showed many of her father's features. Her general attitude was also a great deal like her father, though she was seemed shy or withdrawn to most people.

Mana, on the other hand, was Whedabra's daughter. She bore resemblance to both her parents, though there was enough of Naruto in her face for the two sisters to be called twins. Her hair was silver though her tail, which was roughly as long as the girl was tall, was covered in fine black scales.

Both of them, despite being twenty five years of age, barely looked older than fifteen, and didn't act any older than that either. There was a certain maturity to them, to be sure, but Naruto was glad that they were enjoying their "childhoods".

"If she's sick, you should let her stay home.", Whedabra cautioned. Tsukiko scoffed.

"Kira is no delicate flower.", was her response. Tsukiko had, after Naruto explained the program, enrolled Kira in the academy. Of course, a special hooded cloak hid the girl's ears and tail. Whedabra, on the other hand, had forbidden her daughter from becoming a ninja. Still, she allowed Naruto to send her on "missions" to keep an eye on her "little" sister while she was at the academy. It was something that let her practice her shadow powers, and kept her out of harms way.

"Well excuse the concern!", Whedabra shot back. Naruto cuffed them both upside the head.

"Can we not argue about this?", he offered, looking at both of his wives in turn. "Let's just enjoy the moonlight."

Whedabra sighed and snuggled back into her "comfy" spot on Naruto's leg; Tsukiko let her tails wrap around the vampire and the small Spirit in a sort of furry blanket while she snuggled into her own comfy spot.

"And they said being dead would suck...", Naruto muttered to himself, knowing full well both of them could hear him. He jumped slightly when both of them slapped his ass.

**(Next morning)**

"Mana...", Kira whispered, poking her sister from a safe distance. She was decently sure that the stick was long enough.

Kira did indeed resemble her mother; her crimson hair fell to her waist, though it was currently in the braid she kept it in when she went to the Academy. Her eyes were a reddish-purple with slightly narrow pupils. Her face bore the predatory sharpness of her parents, but at the same time it was softer, and her own kind attitude shone through and made it a little less threatening, if no less exotic. Her skin was fair, though pale, and her fur matched her hair, save for the silver tips on her ears and tail. Her build was lithe, and her breasts were comfortably in the C-cup area. Her nails were very sharp, but looked human enough, save for the points.

Her clothing at home rarely consisted of more than a haori and hakama, though she had a different attire for the Academy. Said attire, the one she was wearing now, consisted of black ninja pants, what could be called ninja "boots", and the skin-tight, long sleeved shirts that the anbu wore. Over her torso was a slightly modified Anbu breastplate, and metal backed gloves covered her hands.

"Mana... it's time to wake up.", she said slightly louder, poking her sister again. A groan and a snap later, Kira pulled back a slightly shorter stick while Mana sat up and spat out the part she had bitten off with her sharp teeth.

"Why did they decided to start this bull _this_ early!", Mana complained, getting out of her bed.

Mana was the a tiny bit taller than her sister at 5'6", though the half-inch didn't really matter to the two of them. Her hair flowed down to just below her shoulder blades, a pale silver that came from her father's silver and her mother's bone white hair. Her eyes obviously came from her mother's true form, as they were a bright, almost acidic, emerald in color with vertical pupils. Her face was much like her sister's, though Mana retained a little more of her father's predatory sharpness. Her build was a little more athletic than her sister's, and her breasts were slightly larger. Her long tail slapped the carpet as she got out of bed and walked to the dresser to get some clothes; it's black scales shone in the light, and it was the only place she had scales. Her heritage also presented itself in her sharp nails and teeth, however.

"I'm not too fond of the time either.", Kira sighed, putting the stick back in the closet with the other 'wake up" sticks. She looked back over to find her sister naked and sorting through her clothing. The young demoness blushed and turned away. "M-mana! Could you please give me some warning?"

"Kira, after all the things we've done... you're seriously still going to act like this when I'm naked?", Mana sweatdropped, pulling out a black hakama and haori. She looked back to the drawer and paused a moment, pulling out a red bra a moment later.

"Well... it's... that...", Kira mumbled, not really having a defense for her bashfulness. She sighed and turned around, blushing still. "I guess I should be a little more mature about this.", she muttered, folding her arms and looking away childishly.

Mana giggled as she put on her bra and haori, smoothing out the fabric. When she grabbed the hakama and started to put them on, Kira blushed even harder, making Mana raise a brow.

"N-no panties?", she asked, embarassed. Mana sweatdropped.

"Kira, I can't wear them because of how big the base of my tail has gotten. I'd either have to cut a half circle to wear them normally, which would make them fall off, or I wear them so high that I go through the day with a wedgie because of how low the hole would have to be..", Mana replied, blushing slightly as she pulled up the hakama and slid her tail through the hole. She reached into the dresser again and pulled out a white sash to help hold the hakama up.

"Oh... when did you..."

"A month ago. I'm surprised you're just now noticing.", Mana replied, knowing what her sister would ask. She reached up and ran a hand through her own hair, sighing when she got to the horns that grew from the sides of her head; each was about three inches long, and curved forward for most of that length.

"Well... this morning is officially awkward...", Kira sweatdropped, getting a giggle from her sister.

"Could be worse.", Mana replied, walking over to the coat rack that held two black cloaks. She took both of them and walked over to her sister to hand her one. "At least we didn't wake up naked in the same bed with an empty jug of sake on the nightstand."

Kira blushed at the memory, and could see a little color in her sister's cheeks as well despite her casual tone about it.

"Yeah... that would have been worse...", Kira agreed hesitantly, though she couldn't stop herself from muttering an afterthought, "Or at least the hangover would be..."

Mana blushed and shook her head, giggling.

"And you call me a pervert.", Mana laughed, as she put the cloak around her shoulders. She wore it loose, compared to her sister, but that was probably because of the fact that her shadow powers hid her well enough in the trees that she hid in while her sister attended the Academy. It was mostly in case someone actually saw her; the cloak's powers would hide her tail and horns.

"No more pervy things!", Kira demanded, putting on her own cloak with a blush. "It's too early!"

She pulled the cloak around her and willed it to stay closed unless she made it do otherwise. She reached up and pulled the large hood over her head before reaching to her neck and pulling up the facemask that was connected to her shirt. It was just like uncle Kakashi's.

"Hey... do you think Mother will ever let... y'know?", Kira asked, hesitant. Mana sighed.

"The day she lets you quit being a ninja is the day that Mom lets me become one.", Mana replied, frowning. Neither one of them was particularly happy with their "occupation". Kira wanted nothing more than to stay home and read or practice the demonic magic that was available to her, while Mana wanted to join the Ninja corps to fight. As it stood, Tsukiko wanted her daughter to be a warrior, and Whedabra wanted Mana to be a scholar.

"...she... might...", Kira started, sighing a moment later. At least their father was accepting of their dreams. He had little luck persuading his wives to listen, but his daughters still appreciated the effort. "We'd have more luck convincing them about Kasumi-chan, huh?"

"Yeah, but just about the same amount of luck convincing Kasumi-chan.", Mana reminded her, sighing a moment later. "But it won't hurt to try...eventually."

"...Yeah...next topic.", Kira replied as they left their room, not wanting to start any sort of brooding this early. Kasumi was at the top of her class for Ninjutsu and genjutsu skill, and a close second in taijutsu; she was also the object of Kira and Mana's affections. Given that she was straight, human, and came from a 'noble' clan... it was gonna be a challenge with opposition on both sides.

"Right... so...", Mana started, searching for a topic. "Oh, I overheard a few students talking during the lunch period; there's apparently a rumor that you're a lesbian."

Kira sweatdropped and sighed.

"Let's keep it a rumor then.", Kira replied. She _was_ a lesbian, of course, but she had a feeling her life might be slightly more difficult if a room full of judgmental/perverted teenagers knew about her tastes. Three was enough.

"You know, if you ever get enough courage to ask Kasumi-chan out, then it's gonna come out anyway.", Mana reminded her, getting a whack upside the head from the demoness.

"You could always ask her out for us!", Kira countered.

"Yeah, a twin sister she didn't know you had suddenly popping up and asking her to go out with the both of us. That'll go over well.", Mana replied, rubbing the spot that had been hit.

"Morning.", a calm voice greeted as they entered the kitchen.

"Morning, uncle Itachi.", they answered in unison, sitting down at the table. Why their 'uncle' acted as the butler of the castle was beyond them, but he was nice and cooked like a god, so there were few complaints.

He was only a few inches taller than the girls, and his raven hair fell to his shoulders; oddly enough, as their father had once said, it didn't spike up like most Uchiha hair does. Itachi had taken to wearing what Naruto called a "Victorian Butler suit", with a silver pocket watch on a chain.

"What, no hug for your aunts?", a young girl with golden hair asked, hands on her hips. She was a little over four feet tall, and wore a white sundress. Beside her stood a green haired girl, slightly shorter, in a dark green robe.

"Morning aunt Isk, morning aunt Tahlianna.". Most of Whedabra's lovers now stayed out of their lover's darkness to act as the girl's "aunts". They were kind and as helpful as one could expect, though they had just as many quirks as their mother. They were kind enough to wear clothes though.

Itachi smiled at the sight, putting plates down where the girls were sitting. It was a simple meal of bacon and eggs, mainly because both of them had admitted to somewhat fragile stomachs in the morning. He set a glass of water and a glass of blood down beside each glass.

"Not to rush you, but you will be late if you don't hurry.", he reminded them, turning back to the stove. Tsukiko would no doubt be up soon, and though he had enough sense not to say it to her face, the woman ate like a horse. Naruto was content with a pack of blood, and Itachi still wasn't sure what Whedabra ate, but they were both easier to accommodate than the demoness. The work kept him busy, and therefore happy however.

Mana looked to the clock and swore, turning to her food and wolfing it down. Kira was slightly more restrained, though the pressure of the time did hurry her along. It seemed that they both needed "normal" food and blood to function at their best, but not a lot of either. A glass of blood and a small plate like this could hold them over till dinner... provided they didn't do a lot of work.

As the girls left, Itachi turned to the angel and the elf.

"Why does Naruto make Mana watch Kira again?", he asked, throwing a few herbs into the mix. Isk shrugged, flexing her little wings.

"I think it's because Whedabra doesn't want her to be a ninja. Y'know... it lets her get out and use her powers in a ninja-ish way. The only catch is that Mana has to report how the day goes, without lying or skipping details.", she explained. "Of course, Mana stays in the trees around the training field, and though her eyes let her see quite a bit... well, she can only see so much."

Itachi nodded, turning back to the stove a moment later. The castle was rather medieval on the outside, but the inside had wooden walls and floors, almost appearing to go from castle to mansion as you walked in the door. The change never really bothered the vampire, but he still found it odd. Then again, it wasn't his castle.

**(With Mana and Kira)**

"So, any idea what's happening today?", Mana asked as they ran. Kira was naturally more nimble and dexterous than her sister, but Mana kept up by using the shadows of the forest to increase her speed. They lived a good ten miles from Konaha, a sea of trees separating the ninja village from Ravenmourne Castle.

"I dunn-na-ha-achoo!", Kira sneezed, almost making the demoness stumble. Mana shook her head.

"You feeling alright sis?", she asked, moving closer and putting her hand on her forehead as they jumped through the branches. "You're a little warm.". Given their normally low body temperatures, that wasn't really a good thing.

"I'm fine... I think it's just a little head cold.", she replied, smiling awkwardly.

The rest of their trip was uneventful and largely silent.

In roughly forty-five minutes they arrived at the gate and showed their passes to the guard. He looked them over and let them through. It was routine for the two of them at this point, and they didn't blame the Hokage for making them check in at the gate when they came in. Hinata was a family friend, but she was skilling in the art of covering Konaha's ass, and that came first.

"I'll see you later. I have a tree to sit in!", Mana declared dramatically while they jumped on the rooftops towards the Academy.

"Ja-ah-achoo!", Kira sneezed again, almost missing her landing, "Ugh... Ja Ne."

Mana shook her head at her sister's persistence and jumped to the left towards the treeline. It was a little creepy, she supposed, but she was looking forward to seeing Kasumi-chan fighting from the shadows. If today was a lecture day, then she'd have to find a tree with a window view to see into the classroom.

Kira sighed and shook her head to try and clear it as she neared the Academy. She hoped that it was just a lecture day; with how much chakra she had, it was difficult to preform most of the academy's jutsu, though she wasn't too bad at sparring. She was excellent with the bookwork and such, and that kept her at "high middle" of the class.

She arrived at the academy and entered as usual, drawing a stare from the new secretary due to her cloak. Luckily, the rest of the staff was familiar with the sight of the black cloak on the girl.

The door to the classroom was open, and only a few students were inside when she arrived. Judging by the amount of maps and such already posted up, it was indeed a lecture day. She took her seat in the middle rows, sitting on the left side of the aisle; far from the window.

"Morning, Kira-chan!", Haru Inuzuka greeted her, waving from the seat behind her when she turned. His white furred dog, Dai, yipped a greeting as well.

"Good morning, Haru-kun.", she replied, giving an eye smile. Haru was a bit headstrong at times, but he wasn't a bad guy once you got to know him.

Haru was tall for his age, standing at 5'11" with an athletic build. He wore black ninja pants with a kunai holster on his left thigh, blue ninja sandals, a white wife-beater, and a green, sleeveless jacket with a hood. His spiky brown hair pointed wildly in every direction.

Isamu Ichikuro was sitting beside the dog-user, asleep. The boy was scarcely taller than Kira herself, with his black hair was tied back into a high and spiky pony tail. He wore a white hoodie over a mesh undershirt, with metal backed gloves. Black pants and combat boots covered his legs and feet.

"I see Isamu is out as usual.", Kira remarked, smiling under her mask. She had a few friends in the class, and Haru and Isamu were the ones that had "brought her out of her shell". She had been somewhat shy a few years ago when she had first arrived, and the two boys seemed hell bent on getting her to hold up a conversation.

"What can you expect; up till daybreak listening to music... tch.", Akira Hyuuga scoffed, shaking her head at the boy. She was the daughter of Neji Hyuuga and Tenten Mizuhara, and had met Kira and Mana a couple of times prior to the Academy. They were friends, though Akira didn't always approve of Isamu's habits.

Kira had a feeling the rumors of her being a lesbian stemmed from the fact that Isamu and Haru adamantly denied being in a relationship with her when questioned... and the fact that Akira was Bisexual. Openly so, in fact.

They had never been to the castle though, and only Akira knew about Mana being her sister, but even then she didn't know about Mana watching from the treeline. They didn't know about her not being human either. What they did know, and occasionally tease her for, was that she was crushing on Kasumi Uchiha. They didn't particularly care that she was gay, and they were quiet about teasing her, but they still did it to annoy the girl.

As if on cue, the raven-haired girl walked in.

Kasumi was roughly 5'7" with an athletic build, B-cup breasts, and long, raven hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail. Her eyes were the usual Obsidian for an Uchiha, though she was capable of activating her sharingan to their first level, and her skin was fair, if a little tanned from training. She wore black ninja pants with wraps going up from her ankles to below her knees, blue ninja sandals, a form fitting black vest with a mesh undershirt. She wore fingerless black gloves that went up to her elbows, with metal plates on the forearms and on the backs of her hands.

"Good Morning, Kasumi-chan.", Kira greeted, glad the mask hid her blush.

"Don't call me chan.", was the sharp response. Kasumi really only had respect for those who could beat her in a spar; so far this year, she was undefeated. She was friendly to some who had beaten her in past years, but no one would really call it friendship. Not a bad person, but you couldn't expect her to be overly friendly unless you beat her in a fight. Or at least that was Kira's view. Her friends mostly saw Kasumi as a bitch.

"...right.", Kira muttered to herself, long after the Uchiha had moved out of earshot. Haru leaned forward and poked the girl to get her attention.

"Why do you bother again?", he asked, eyebrow raised. Kira sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know... I just know I don't want to give up."

The rest of the class started filing in, and soon enough Iruka walked in. He was a chuunin in his late forties, but he was still in good health; he was also the longest standing teacher at the Academy.

"Today's going to be an easy day; just a lecture on ninja warfare and a review of the boundaries of the elemental nations.", he said, motioning to the various maps.

Kira stifled a sneeze, feeling a headache starting to form at her temples. Still figuring it to just be a head cold, she got ready to take a few notes. After all, what's that worst it could be?

**(Later, Uchiha compound)**

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!", Kasumi called as she entered the door. With any luck, her sister was still off on her mission.

"Hey Kasu-chan, how was your day?", Akemi asked as her daughter entered the living room. "Sorry if I don't stand; I've been having a rough day.". Akemi had aged well, and looked rather youthful despite having had two children and being seven months pregnant with another. Her red hair was gathered in a braid that was flipped over her right shoulder. She was in a plain kimono.

"Well enough.", she replied. "Is Kimiko home yet?"

"No, she's still off on her A-Rank.", her father answered from across the room, having just came from the hall. Sasuke was a athletically built man, though the baggy haori and hakama hid his frame in folds of cloth. His raven hair was pulled back into a ponytail to stop it from looking like a spiky mane. His face showed the usual signs of fatigue that many ninja were never able to be rid of, most noticeably were the twin lines under his eyes. "And define well enough."

Kasumi sighed and smiled; she loved her parents, though not having Kimiko around made life in general better. As the second child, Sasuke expected Kasumi to be able to do as well as Kimiko. Given that her sister was already a chuunin at her age, it was safe to say she was behind. Kasumi wouldn't really have minded it either, but Kimiko took every opportunity to rub it in her face. Sasuke often didn't stop the bragging, saying that Kasumi need to learn how to ignore jibs and could use them as motivation.

"Well, the lecture was on ninja warfare and the boundaries of the various nations. Nothing new.", Kasumi explained. "It would have been a bit more bearable if Kira-san wasn't sneezing every five seconds...", she added, eyebrow twitching. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Kira... what is her last name?", Sasuke asked. "You've complained about her before. The name sounds familiar for some reason.". Not many people named their daughters "killer".

"Kira Avaron.", Kasumi replied, surprised it hadn't come up before now.

Sasuke froze at the mention of the name, a flood of memories coming back at once. An irritated frown appeared on his face.

"Kasumi, you are not to associate with that girl, do you understand?", Sasuke ordered, suddenly serious. Akemi was somewhat surprised by the negative reaction, and Kasumi was taken aback.

"I really don't, but why-"

"Don't question me on this.", Sasuke cut her off. He calmed himself down slightly before continuing. "Now go get ready for dinner."

Kasumi, reluctantly dropping it, nodded and walked off towards her room. When she was gone, Akemi shot her husband a dirty look as he walked over and sat down beside her.

"What?"

"You know damn well what.", she snapped back. "Naruto-san is the reason we're together, and we owe him a lot. If Kira-san is his daughter-"

"Naruto is the reason Itachi isn't in a prison, paying for his crimes. I don't trust him anymore, and for good reason.", he cut her off, "And you know what he is... his daughter is going to be no different, and I don't want Kasumi around her if she gets hungry."

Akemi leveled a glare at her husband, but couldn't argue that point; she was a little worried too, now that he mentioned it, but she didn't think it was grounds for such rudeness.

Kasumi, after changing, looked at her mirror with a decent deal of irritation on her face. Her father had always been a bit controlling, making her train a certain way and in certain areas for certain amounts of time every day since she was four. She could deal with that sort of control, since she knew it was for the sake of making her stronger, and at this point it was habit for her, though Sasuke kept a loose watch on her. She could even accept that, right before she turned Thirteen, she wasn't allowed to date anyone until after she was a chuunin; they were a distraction.

She had, in a rebellious moment, gotten a boyfriend two years ago. It had lasted a good two months, though he had left as soon as her parents found out. She had been hurt that he was ready to drop her like that, and had been on her father's side when it came to the topic of dating since then. Her punishment wasn't overly harsh, since they had gone no further than a peck on the cheek(which was more than likely why he was so ready to leave, if she was right), but her at-home training had become a little harsher to keep her occupied.

Her ninja training and love-life she could handle being controlled, because she knew that it was technically in her best interest. Being told not to associate with someone just because her father said so, however, didn't sit well with her; especially when she saw no harm in "associating" with her. In fact, she was kinda pissed off.

"What's you're problem with her?", she muttered, glaring at nothing. She didn't particularly want to get to know Kira, but at the same time part of her wanted to out of spite. She was a "good little girl" who did as she was told, and could tell the difference between a good person and a bad one. If she proved her father wrong, she might get a bit more freedom. If nothing else, she'd get some satisfaction, though she normally wasn't a spiteful person. "...probably not too smart though.", she muttered.

She knew her father could get a bit vindictive with training, and she didn't want to push her luck. Besides, it's not like she really associated with her anyway.

Still, there was a small seed of doubt, planted in the recesses of her mind.

**(At Ravenmourne)**

"ACHOOO!"

Yet another sneeze rocked the castle, coming from the twin's room. Itachi sighed as he ascended the stairs, holding a mixture of chicken noodle soup and blood on a tray. When he arrived, he braced himself for hell on the other side; Whedabra and Tsukiko had been arguing rather... fiercely early.

"I brought the soup.", he announced as his shadow opened the door. To his surprise there was no fighting.

Kira was in her bed on the left side of the room while Mana was sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, keeping a wet cloth on her sister's forehead to help cool her down. Whedabra and Naruto stood on the same side of the bed as Mana, staying out of the way; they knew how to take bodies apart, not fix them. Tsukiko sat on the other edge of the large bed, holding her daughter's hand while she rested. Her tails channeled some wind chakra to keep a breeze going around her.

"Sis, do you need help eating?", Mana asked as Itachi brought the tray over. The demoness cracked her eyes opened and nodded weakly.

"Valanthe wanted me to tell you that she and Takara are working on a tincture to help break the fever. She said that it would take some time to alter it to suit a Dhamphyr's body, but it would be done by roughly noon tomorrow.", Itachi informed them, standing with his arms behind his back. "She said that this is just a variant of the flu that seems to be specific to demons."

"I'm immune.", Tsukiko said, eyes not leaving her daughter. Mana helped her sit up and slowly got her to eat.

"Just delivering the message.", Itachi replied, "She said that it's nothing to really worry about. If she stays in bed and rests, Kira just has a few uncomfortable days ahead."

"Guess that means I'm staying home.", Kira replied weakly. She hated how pitiful she sounded.

"Yes. I should have kept you home today.", Tsukiko admitted, throwing Whedabra a look. The darkness spirit shrugged, forgiving her.

"Just rest, you'll be fine.", Naruto said, sounding rather fatherly for once. "Nothing is eternal."

"Except for nothing.", Whedabra corrected, getting a raised brow from her husband.

"So nothing doesn't ever change?"

"But nothing changes much."

Naruto laughed along with his wife and Mana. Tsukiko offered a smile, and Kira did much the same. Itachi shook his head.

"You're all insane.", Itachi declared, jokingly putting his hands up in surrender.

"Makes you wonder how you lasted this long, doesn't it Itachi-kun?", Naruto asked, smiling.

"That, Master Avaron, is obvious; I'm simply one hell of a butler.", Itachi replied, smiling. He then walked from the room with the intent of finishing dinner. He had a feeling they would be eating in that room tonight.

* * *

><p>11 pages. Not bad for a first chapter. I liked it, and I hope you guys did too.<p>

A few quick things:

Naruto changed his last name to Avaron after the war. Whedabra took up the name as well. Why did Naruto do that? Because he didn't feel any connection to Hellsing or Namikaze anymore. I will also say this again in the story later. Why? Because I know 50% of you won't read this.

Two, there are cookies waiting for the people who can identify the song used refered to in the chapter, and more cookies for who can Identify who Itachi looks like. It should be really freaking obvious if you look up -_-

Three, Mana has horns like the Black Dragons from D&D 3.5. Just imagine them being very small, but it's that style of horns. Whedabra's adult form has them, but not her normal loli form.

_**If you review, please say more than just "great story, plz continue"**_

Alright, I will get to work on chapter 2 asap.

Ja Ne, My Freaky Darlings!


	2. The Mix Up

Hail, my most freaky of darlings!

Here's chapter 2 of Symphony of the Hunter's Moon.

Also, because no one got it, here are the "easter eggs" from the last chapter:

Song: White Knuckles by Ok Go

Itachi's Design: based off of Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji

_**Multiple people have said this, so I'll address this issue now. When I added Konoha to my computer's dictionary, it somehow added Konaha as well. So if you see that issue, please don't freak out. I'm not intentionally screwing up the village name, and I'll catch myself if I can, but spellcheck won't alert me to the difference. I'm sorry for the issue**_

* * *

><p>Mana sighed as she jumped through the branches of the trees, heading towards Konoha alone for once. She frowned slightly when she thought back to that morning.<p>

_Flashback_

"_Mana, could I talk you into doing me a favor?", Naruto asked, stepping into the room. He and his wives had retired to their room at midnight, letting Mana stay with her sister._

_The young dragoness looked up from her seat at the edge of the bed with a tired smile._

"_Sure.", she said. Naruto raised a brow; the covers on Mana's bed weren't even remotely disturbed._

"_You've been sitting there all night? In that one place?", he asked, hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Mana blushed and looked back down to her sleeping sister._

"_She's my sister... I love her.", she replied, shrugging. "Now, what did you want me to do, oh father-o-mine?"_

_Naruto laughed and handed her a letter, causing her to raise a brow of her own._

"_The academy requires notes when students are absent, signed by the parents of said student. This note will excuse Kira until she gets better and can return to her classes.", he explained, sighing a moment later. "I'm close to a breakthrough with my shadow powers, and I can't leave the castle until I'm done. Your mother and Tsukiko won't leave without me, and will stay up here with your sister. Itachi needs to stay and maintain the castle, and none of your aunts can leave the castle without Whedabra."_

"_So I need to go deliver it?", she finished, smiling lightly. "I'd really rather not leave..."_

"_I know honey, but I need someone to do it. It'll be a quick trip there and back, and then you won't have to leave Kira's side until she gets better.", Naruto added, smiling. He really didn't mind that his daughters loved each other that way. He was aware they had a love interest somewhere in the village, but neither of them were brave enough to ask her. Of course, the girls didn't know that he knew, either._

"_...Alright. But all I'm going to do is give it to her teacher, and then I'm coming right back.", Mana said firmly. Naruto smiled and ruffled her hair, getting a growl from his daughter._

"_That's my girl. One catch though: the sun's pretty bright today, and your mother wants you to wear the cloak a bit tighter than normal, and she'd like you to wear a facemask like Kira does.", Naruto explained, fully expecting the groan from his daughter._

"_When is she going to realized I'm not some delicate flower? I'm not going to fade in the sunlight like a shadow!", she groaned, face falling into her hands. Naruto sighed and knelt down to look her in the eyes._

"_Mana, Whedabra is just worried about you. Bear with it for now, and it'll get better. If you fight it, she's going to put even more restraints on your actions.", Naruto advised, giving his daughter a hug. "Besides, at least you and I get to spar, right?"_

_It was their little secret; Naruto would take Mana down to the sprawling dungeons below the castle and teach her how to fight and manipulate chakra. Whedabra was told that she was only learning the basics for the sake of self-defense, but Naruto was teaching her a variety of techniques, including shadow attacks. Kira came down to watch once or twice, but she was receiving lessons from Tsukiko. Naruto did, however, "distract" Tsukiko some days so that Kira could go to the library of the castle and read in peace._

"_...Alright, I'll wear the stupid cloak and mask.", Mana surrendered, looking over to her sleeping sister for a moment, "I'll be back soon sis."_

_Flashback End_

Mana shook her head as she jumped through the branches, not used to not being able to feel the wind on all of her face. Kira only wore her mask to help hide her fangs and to look a bit more professional. Or something like that.

"And don't get me started on the cloak...", she muttered. She could will it to stay closed like Kira could, but she liked the feeling of the wind far too much to leave it shut. She had a black haori and hakama on under it today, and she knew it covered enough of her. When she neared Konoha, she would slow down and close the cloak.

For now, she wanted to feel the wind.

Her mind did start to wander as she jumped though, making her think of how this little trip would go. She didn't want to stay long, but maybe she would get to see Kasumi a little closer than normal. The empathetic link that she and Kira shared had given her feelings for the girl, and Kira's own descriptions had done much the same. She sounded like someone who was acting superior in defense of something... perhaps it was her inner romantic speaking, but she wanted to try and get Kasumi to open up, if that was the case.

The gates came into view sooner than she would have like, but she slowed down and sealed the cloak shut like Kira did, if only so she wouldn't have to lie if her mother asked. She showed the guard her pass, as usual, and entered the village.

"Hopefully this really will be a quick visit.", she muttered to herself, hopping up onto the nearest rooftop and taking off towards the Academy.

As she neared it, she saw Kira's class standing in a group at the training field; it looked like a spar had just ended. Kasumi took the field and looked like she was waiting for an opponent. From what Kira had said of her skills, Mana almost pitied the one to have to fight her.

She landed near the group and caught the attention of Akira as she neared. The girl had an annoyed look on her face, but she seemed happy to see her; that slightly confused Mana. They hadn't seen each other in years.

"Iruka-sensei, Kira-chan just showed up!", she called, walking over and grabbing Mana's arm before dragging Mana through the crowd.

"No, wait! I'm not-", she started

"Kira! There you are. It's not like you to be late.", Iruka chastised. "We're sharing the field with another class today, so we need to hurry up and get the matches over with."

With that he gently pushed her into the field, across from Kasumi.

"Hang o-"

"Begin!", Iruka shouted, dropping his arm.

Mana couldn't even turn around before she was struck hard by the young Uchiha, the blow almost sending her sprawling. The dragoness whirled around and lashed out with a punch, surprising the Uchiha. Even though her tail, one of her favorite weapons, was sealed in the cloak's magic, Kasumi was used to fighting her classmates, and had expected to fight Kira. Mana didn't fight anything like Kira, and that was an advantage all it's own.

It seemed they weren't going to let her get a word in edgewise, so she might as well take the opportunity to have a serious opponent spar with her to gage her skills. She could speak when she was done.

Mana knew the Uchiha liked hit and run tactics, and also knew that a ninja should take the space given to them. She, however, was more durable than any human and didn't feel like giving Kasumi any room.

When the Uchiha jumped back, she was surprised yet again to find Mana already upon her. She managed to guard in time to block the roundhouse kick, but the impact sent her skidding to the left.

Kasumi swore at the pain in her forearms, but managed to ignored it fast enough to dodge the next kick.

"She's way more aggressive than normal.", Haru observed, rather surprised. Isamu watched silently, his large headphones covering his ears. His head seemed to slowly change through different speeds of bobbing, until he finally found one that matched Mana's movements.

"It's working for her though.", Akira muttered, surprised by the change in her "friend".

Kasumi wasn't used to dodging this much, and she knew better than to block after that first kick. "Kira's" assault was unrelenting, but she saw a small window and took it, leaving a log in her place due to a well timed kawarimi.

Kasumi gulped nervously when she saw the log fly through the air and crash through a training dummy. She shook herself of the fear, activated her Sharingan, and threw several kunai at the dragoness; they were blunted, as per Academy rules, but Mana didn't know that.

Her response was one that came from her spars with her father. She knelt down and slammed her palms to the ground, raising a barrier of shadows. It deflected the kunai, then dissolved in the light.

Mana didn't waste any time by sitting around; she rocketed off towards Kasumi with her shadow rippling behind her. She had a plan, and was so focused that she didn't hear the whispers or shocked looks from the crowd.

Kasumi ducked under the high roundhouse and sent a jab towards Mana's inner thigh, trying to hit the nerve and disable the leg. A manacle of shadows grabbed her hand and, using the whirling cloak as protection from the sun. Held her in place while Mana came full circle and kneed Kasumi in the left temple, knocking her free of the shadows and a good four feet to the right.

The world was spinning for the young Uchiha, and she found herself unable to stand up.

"Winner, Kira!", Iruka shouted, proud of the girl.

"Hold it!", Mana shouted, pissed off at this point. "I am NOT Kira!"

The whole class seemed to pause at that, and Mana didn't let them recover and cut her off.

"I'm her sister, Mana. My sister is sick, and my father asked me to bring this fucking note.", she explained, walking over to Iruka with a gait that clearly said that she was pissed off. She shoved the wrinkled envelope into his hands.

"But you look-"

"If you had let me explain when I got here, this wouldn't have happened.", Mana cut Iruka off, motioning to the Uchiha who was having trouble getting up.

The chuunin was stunned silent. He quickly opened the letter and read the note, becoming flushed as he did so.

"I'm so sorry for the confusion. We're on a tight schedule today with the field, and you're wearing the same clothing as Kira.", Iruka apologized, bowing to the girl. Mana scoffed, still upset. "But, if you don't mind me asking, if your sister is the one attending the academy... how is it that you can fight so well?"

"...I'm better at fighting then she is. That's just how we are.", Mana replied, flushing behind the mask. She was coming down off the adrenaline fast, and she was somewhat amazed by the fact that she had just kicked her crush's ass without a second thought.

"And the shadow technique? Normally such things are limited to the Nara clan.", Iruka asked, pressing. The Girl had serious potential.

"Bloodline.", Mana responded before she could stop herself. Iruka's brow raised.

"So Kira could do the same thing?", he asked. Why hadn't she before then?

"I don't have to explain my family to you. I do the shadow moves, Kira doesn't. End of story.", Mana snapped, folding her arms. "Now, unless you want my boot up _your_ ass, I need to get home."

Iruka let a brow rise; a technical civilian threatening a chuunin wasn't a wise thing, even though he could tell that she was more than she appeared.

"I would appreciate a little more respect, Mana, was it?", Iruka replied, letting a little killer intent out to see how she responded. He was rather surprised to see her eyes glow slightly in the shadows of the hood.

"You are not my teacher.", Mana countered, not liking this man right now.

"With all due respect, I'd like that to change. You have a great deal of potential.", he offered. "The year is almost half over, but you'd be able to come in if you act quickly."

He saw, for a mere moment, a glimmer of pure hope in the girls eyes. She quickly looked away, an annoyed expression barely visible through the mask.

"I doubt that it'll happen.", Mana replied. "Mom's a bit touchy about me becoming a ninja."

"Yet she's alright with Kira becoming a ninja?"

"What part of "I don't have to explain my Family to you" didn't you hear me say?", Mana shot back, starting to get aggravated. She walked away, deciding to just leave before she said something foolish.

"Hey, Mana-san!", a female voice called from behind her. Mana froze, not sure if she should turn and face Kasumi. Curiosity won out, and she turned.

"What?", she asked, surprised to see the Uchiha offering her hand with a hint of a smile on her face.

"I'm Kasumi Uchiha... nice fighting.", she praised. Mana looked at the hand, very tempted to clasp it like the Uchiha expected, but she shook her head.

"With how rude you are to my sister, I really don't think I owe you that kindness.", Mana replied, making the Uchiha flinch slightly in surprise. Oh how Mana wanted to take that hand though. "For the sake of not being rude myself... I'm Mana Avaron."

"...I hope you accept Iruka-sensei's offer; I could use a sparring partner.", Kasumi replied, lowering her hand.

Mana bit back the comment that she wanted to make, deciding instead to turn around and walk away. Ironically it was with the same reasoning that she had used to walk away from Iruka.

She hopped up onto the rooftops and darted away.

"Soooo...", Isamu started, looking at Akira, "Did you not notice that she has green eyes and Kira has purple eyes?"

"And you did?", she snapped back.

"Yep. She also fights to the beat of rock or heavy metal, whereas Kira fights to either techno, trance, or songs with similar styles. You'd know this if you had any taste in music."

Once again, the music loving weapon-user was whacked upside the head by the slightly shorter Hyuuga.

**(At Ravenmoune)**

Mana entered her sister's room, sighing as she took off the cloak. She wasn't too surprised to see Whedabra and Tsukiko in the room. Tsukiko was currently applying a cool cloth to her daughter's forehead while Whedabra stood there for company; Mana had a feeling that they had been talking before she had entered.

Whedabra walked over to her daughter with a smile and hugged her.

"How was the trip?", she asked, though Mana could tell she was holding something back.

"Alright, except for the part where they confused me for Kira.", Mana replied. Whedabra took a step back with a raised eyebrow. She scrutinized her daughter for a moment, making the girl's eye twitch in slight annoyance. "What?"

"... You got into a fight.", Whedabra said flatly, sighing. "You know I don't like you fighting anyone."

"Mom, it wasn't my fault. One of Kira's friends thought I was her, and her teacher seemed to be in a hurry to get the matches over so I was pushed onto the field. I just defended myself, and won mind you, and managed not to bitch at the teacher too badly when it was over. I delivered the damn letter and then came straight home.", Mana explained, leaving her opponent vague and skipping her little "conversation" with Kasumi.

"...You're not telling me something.", she replied. Mana flushed, almost wishing the mask and cloak were back on.

"I... Kira's teacher, Iruka, wants me to enter the academy. He said that if I go in soon, I'll be able to catch up with the rest of the class.", Mana reluctantly said. She mustered her courage and continued, "Mom, I'd really like to take him up on the of-"

"No.", Whedabra cut her off, voice firm. Mana scowled, feeling some of her earlier anger and adrenaline coming back.

"Why not?", she asked, arms folded.

"I don't want you getting hurt. You're not going.", Whedabra replied, her own arms crossed.

"I'm more durable than any human! They're the ones who would get hurt, not me!", Mana snapped, suddenly feeling much smaller when Whedabra's entire aura shifted.

"Mana, you are not becoming a ninja, and that is final.", Whedabra said, the shadows of the room flickering.

"Whedabra, contain yourself if you're going to argue in the room.", Tsukiko growled. Surprisingly, Mana answered.

"The conversation is over anyway.", Mana said, eyes shadowed and voice choking. She tuned on her heel and headed for the door.

As she exited, Tsukiko sent a glare at Whedabra.

"Why must you be so hell bent on not letting her join the academy?", Tsukiko asked, annoyed. "She's stronger than a human, yet you treat her as though she's made of shadows; a delicate touch and always scared she'll disappear."

"Take care of your daughter, and let me worry about mine.", Whedabra replied coldly, following Mana a moment later.

Tsukiko half-contemplated throwing a fireball at the short spirit, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. She instead turned her gaze to her daughter, allowing herself a soft smile. The world of demons dictated keeping a child until it could fend for itself, then leaving it to do just that. Tsukiko had to admit that she liked this world, the one where she could stay with her daughter like this, much better. She couldn't let go of her origins entirely though... demons were engines of destruction, and they had to know how to fight.

She knew that Kira wanted to stop being a ninja, but Tsukiko just couldn't do it.

**(with Mana)**

Mana entered the dungeons and slammed the door behind her, knowing it wouldn't stop her mother if she was following her. Right now, all she wanted to do was find her father and cry.

She heard the sounds of combat coming from the left side of a fork in the path, and took it without hesitation. Soon enough she came to a large room and found her father fighting against what looked to be... well, a shadow version of him. It matched his moves perfectly, canceling them all. Or maybe her father was matching the shadow's moves; it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand.

When she neared, both of them looked over in unison.

"Mana? What are you doing down here?", Naruto asked, dispelling his doppleganger. He was somewhat surprised when Mana ran the remaining distance and hugged his abdomen, crying into his shirt. "Mana, what's wrong?", he asked, returning the embrace.

Her response was a tighter hug.

"May I look?", he asked, getting a nod in response while she continued to cry. Naruto closed his eyes and slipped into Mana's mind, immediately being assaulted by whirling emotions. He pressed past them, in the direction that Mana had nudged him, and looked over recent memories. He sighed.

"Why is she... such a bitch about this?", Mana cried. "I want to be a ninja; I want to fight! I felt more alive today than I have in a long time..."

"Mana, your mother is being stubborn about this, not a bitch... and you shouldn't be calling your mother a bitch regardless", Naruto said gently. "She's worried about you, Mana, and she's scared to death that if she lets go, you'll never come back."

"But why? Why does she have to... to...argh!", she shouted, tightening the hug. Naruto felt his spine pop.

The nosferatu bit his lip, debating on whether or not to tell her. In the end, the logic of Mana deserving to know won out.

"Mana, she's scared because you had siblings.", Naruto said gently. Mana, though still crying, paused; she looked up, confusion on her tear-stained face. Naruto sighed again. "Mana... you were actually one of three children that Whedabra had by me."

"Wh...what?", Mana asked, confused, "Then wh-where are they?", she asked, still choking on tears.

"Mana, you know that, as a half-dragon, you came from an egg... right?", Naruto asked, getting a nod. "Whedabra laid three, and to help keep them the right temperature, she made a "nest" in the onsen. Not in the water, mind you, but near the edge to keep you warm if she had to leave."

Naruto bit his lip yet again. The memory was decently painful for him as well.

"In the egg, it was a world of shadows, and you were in a shadow form; I suppose that was because of your dear parents,", he remarked, trying for a laugh. Mana let a small smile show, though it didn't last long. "Those shadows... I think they made your siblings think they were ready to hatch much sooner than they were. They were still in shadow form as they cracked their shells and stepped into the world... and the light..."

Mana's expression shifted to one of shock. Naruto looked away.

"I...we couldn't save them. Whedabra took it...very badly, more so because of the fact you were her first children ever in thousands of years of life. She never left you alone after that, constantly sending you the mental message to wait until you were strong enough to leave the egg. When you finally did... well, Whedabra was so happy it... it's hard to put into words.", Naruto remembered, smiling, "But... she still hasn't really gotten over your siblings, and she's still scared that you'll somehow turn to a shadow in the light one day. If you're fighting and using your powers, that's more likely than if you were here, away from anything "exciting"."

Mana looked away and tightened the hug again, not saying anything.

"You still want to be a ninja... I know.", Naruto comforted, patting her back. "Do you understand why your mother is so against it now?"

"...yes...", she replied, quietly. "But why aren't you?"

"...I want my little girls to be happy. It does worry me... the thought of you becoming a ninja... but I know that Hinata doesn't allow incompetent jounin to have teams. You'd be taught how to take care of yourself, by me if necessary.", Naruto replied. "I know you are not a delicate flower, and that you can take care of yourself, but just remember that you'll always be the daughter of Whedabra and me; we do worry about you."

"...you're just the one who trusts me.", Mana added, mumbling.

"I'm really not good at that sort of speech, am I?", Naruto asked, chuckling. Mana giggled softly, the tears having stopped for a moment. "Look... I'll talk to your mother about the academy if you want me to. If she agrees, you have to agree to put up with any additional worrying that she does about you, alright?"

"She won't agree.", Mana replied, not letting go.

"You beat one of the top students at the academy without injury. You can only get stronger.", Naruto countered, patting her head. "Whedabra... wants you to be stronger, but she's too scared of what will happen if you do become strong enough to stand on your own. In her own words, dragons are rarely appreciative of their parents."

Mana sighed and shook her head a little.

"I love you guys... I don't always like you, but I love you.", she replied.

"I know. We're just one big, fucked up family.", Naruto laughed, getting a giggle from his daughter. "Just... know that Whedabra is trying to do this for your own good."

"I...I know."

"Good. Now, let's head upstairs and bug Itachi; that always cheers you up."

**(Later, at the Uchiha District)**

Kasumi walked in the door, hoping once again that her sister wasn't home. She walked into the living room and plopped down onto the couch, groaning. Mana's knee had bruised her temple and cut the skin, meaning she left the Academy with a bandage on her head. Some of the bruise peeked around the edges.

"Dear Kami, what happened Kasumi?", Akemi asked, hurrying over to her daughter when she saw the bandage. She had just come in from the courtyard where she had been reading, if the book she put on the table was any sort of clue. She sat down on her left, fidgeting like she wanted to remove the bandage and inspect the 'wound'.

"I...lost a spar.", she admitted. She nodded, letting her mother remove the bandage to inspect her head.

"To who?", Akemi asked. The bruise wasn't too bad, and the cut was small. A little disinfectant and a bandage and she would be fine.

"...Remember Kira Avaron?"

"You lost to her?"

"No, I lost to her civilian sister, who everyone mistook for Kira.", Kasumi groaned, realizing how bad that sounded.

"You lost to a _civilian_?", a female voice called from behind her, a taunting tone. Kasumi groaned again as her sister walked around the couch and stood in front of her, arms folded.

Kimiko was roughly the same height as their father, or just below six foot, with an atheletic build are small D-cups. Her raven hair fell straight to her shoulders, framing her beautiful face and obsidian eyes. Right now the twenty-five-year-old was wearing a red 'house' kimono, though she normally wore her Anbu gear.

"She had some kind of trainin-"

"You lost to a civilian. You have years of training, the sharingan, and you lost to a civilian.", Kimiko interrupted, smiling wickedly. "My my, you really are falling behind the program. Maybe I should go to the library and pick up a copy of "Taijutsu for Dummies" for you, neh?"

"Can you just go away, please? She surprised me.", Kasumi argued. After all, Mana fought nothing like what she was used to.

"A civilian surprised you? Wow.", Kimiko laughed, "That's pretty pitiful."

"You wouldn't be laughing if you saw how strong she was.", Kasumi growled, remembering how the log went through the training dummy. Kimiko shook her head.

"Just to recap, you were beaten, surprised by, and are weaker than a civilian.", she listed off, smirking, "Did I miss anything?"

Kasumi groaned, but didn't answer. She didn't feel like having everything turned around on her. Kimiko took the silence as a chance to continue.

"If you actually did as you were supposed to, maybe you'd be following in my footsteps. I suppose it's a bit late for that though, _academy student_."

"Kimiko, go start dinner for me, and leave you sister alone.", Akemi ordered, cutting her daughter off from her next remark. There was a flash in Kimiko's eyes that debated on arguing, but she decided against it. Civilian she might have been, but Akemi was scary when she wanted to be.

"Alright mother. See you at dinner, _little_ sister."

As she left, Kasumi let out a sigh of relief. She turned and looked at her mother, smiling.

"Thank you.", she said. Akemi smiled and nodded.

"I agree with Sasuke that you need to learn to ignore the jibes, but I don't think you should have to deal with that after a long day.", Akemi sighed, "If you want my opinion, I think Kimiko just picks on you because she always got teased for being so young in the Anbu. I hate to call it a sort of "hand-me-down" teasing... but that's sorta what it is, y'know?"

"I really don't care. I do my best, and all I want is a little positive acknowledgment when I get home. You praise me, and I'm really grateful for that. Dad, however, just tells me to keep training, and Kimiko tells me that no matter how much I train, I won't be good enough.", Kasumi argued.

"Kasumi, your father does praise you... it's...admittedly in a roundabout way, but still.", Akemi replied. "He's just trying to make sure you're strong enough."

"And Kimiko? Is she just making sure that I don't go through life without a bitch to ruin my day?"

"Kasumi...", Akemi said dangerously, not liking her daughter's language. She supposed there was just cause for it, but she still didn't like her daughter swearing... or calling her sister a bitch for that matter.

"Sorry...", Kasumi mumbled, losing what little relief she had gained from verbally declaring her sister a bitch. Akemi sighed, leaning over and kissing her daughter's forehead while pulling her into a hug.

"It's okay; I'm sure one day, you'll do something that will stun both of them speechless.", Akemi assured her, ending the hug and cupping her daughter's cheek to look her in the eyes. Kasumi laughed.

"I'm going to need a few leashes then.", she said, still laughing. Akemi raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you need leashes?"

"Cause if I want to shut them both up, I need to walk in here with a dragon on one leash and a demon on the other.", Kasumi replied, laughing at the though. Akemi laughed as well, finding the mental image too amusing not to.

"Better make sure it's a surprise too; you know how those two can get when they know something is coming.", Akemi whispered, winking. Kasumi nodded, stifling a giggle like they were conspiring. "Now why don't you go get ready for dinner? It'll be done in about an hour, so you have some time to unwind."

Kasumi nodded and walked off towards her room, a light smile still on her face. She entered her room and locked the door behind her, wanting the privacy to think for a little while.

"Finding a dragon and a demon is going to be a pain in the ass.", she muttered to herself, shucking her clothes and putting on her favorite "leisure clothes"; a green haori with golden leaf designs and hakama with the same pattern. She thought about it for a moment, then went to her closet and grabbed a towel; she had an hour to start thinking of things that would stun her father and sister senseless... or at least silent, and a shower sounded like a good place to start thinking.

**(Midnight, Castle Ravenmoune)**

The moon was in the middle of the night sky as Mana slipped into her sister's room, having waited for Tsukiko and her mother to leave. Her sister had been given the tincture, and already looked a little better.

"Hey sis.", Mana greeted, sitting on the edge of the bed. Kira opened her eyes and smiled.

"Being sick sucks.", she replied, still smiling. "I heard what happened earlier between you and Whedabra..."

"Oh...", Mana mumbled, blushing, "I...I though you were asleep."

"...I think it's great that Iruka-sensei wants you to join the Academy.", Kira said with a smile. "We'd make a hell of a team."

Mana smiled and nodded. Kira didn't use the magic she was so good at in the Academy though, for fear that her mother would find out and have her stop practicing the art. It wasn't a "warrior's art" after all. If she did use it though, she would have been unbeatable in spars.

"Who did you fight, by the way?", Kira asked, curious. Mana blushed and looked away, not knowing how her sister would take this.

"Uh...Kasumi...", she hesitantly admitted. Kira's eyes widened and she sat up.

"You fought Kasumi? And... won?", she asked surprised. Mana nodded, surprised by the reaction. "Well... I can't say it won't be good for her ego... and she'll respect you now. Which means she'll talk to you... and I might get in by relation!"

Mana sweatdropped at her sister's antics, poking the demoness in the forehead to make her lay back down.

"Just... chill out. Mom probably won't let me into the Academy.", Mana replied, "But at least Kasumi might be a little nicer to you after that fight."

"Why?"

"Well... she tried to shake my hand after the fight, and I only gave her my name, saying that she didn't deserve the handshake after how rude she was to you...", Mana explained, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. Kira just smiled and nodded.

"Hey sis?", Kira asked, looking over at Mana after a moment of thought, "Why _do_ you like Kasumi?"

"...Same reason you like her. She's pretty, and she's not really a bitch under it all. I'd like to get to know her better, just like you. That's what dating is for.", Mana replied, letting Kira take her hand. "I think you need to finish resting though, instead of questioning your sister. Valanthe and Takara said you'd have a few more days of bed in front of you."

"Can I at least get a goodnight kiss?", Kira asked, smiling lightly. Mana giggled.

"You can ask me to kiss you without blushing, and can ask me for sex with a half-way straight face, but you freak out when I undress around you.", Mana replied though her laughter.

"Oh sure, pick on the sick girl.", Kira pouted, folding her arms. Mana sighed, still smiling, and leaned down. She had lost count of how many times her lips had met her sister's, but the feeling never got old.

"Am I forgiven?", Mana asked, smiling as she pulled back. Kira looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"Can I have a lap dance?"

"Don't push your luck."

* * *

><p>And there's the end of chapter two.<p>

I seem to be making these chapters a little shorter than normal, and 12-13 pages seems to be the average. I won't ever let it drop below ten, mind you, but some chapters like this may very well make up the bulk of the story.

**PLEASE READ:** I'm going to ask that you're all patient with this story, as it's my first time writing a romance like this... in more ways than one. It's my first yuri, and it's technically my first "harem"... though I think "threesome" is the more appropriate term. I'm spending a lot of time going into the reactions and actions of the characters, so the story may seem to be going slowly at first.

Also, a note to the perverts reading this, there will be sex. Soon? I don't know. There have already been references to it, but it'll be a few chapters before there's a lemon.

Ja Ne, my Freaky Darlings!

P.S: Don't expect updates this frequently


	3. The Idea

Hello my Freaky Darlings!

This is coming along nicely; I had to force this a little around... half-way through, but I don't think it killed it.

Alright, here's the third chapter! Have fun... or whatever you people do when you read my stories...

* * *

><p>Kasumi had to admit, short of literally walking into her house with a dragon and a demon on a leash, she couldn't think of a lot of things that would shock both of them into silence. She had thought up plenty of things that would piss one or the other off, though she had a feeling half of them weren't going to keep them silent for more than an instant. Sorta defeated the purpose.<p>

"This is hard.", she sighed, putting on her clothes. She wished she could just stay in bed and think about it, but she had a feeling that bad things would happen if she skipped school. Things that rhymed with "training from hell".

She made sure her pouch was full of kunai and shuriken before putting it at her thigh, still thinking.

"An S-rank jutsu might do it... but the chakra cost might knock me out for a week.", she muttered as she walked out the house. She was the only one up this early. "And being unconscious isn't going to be stunning anyone."

The walk to the Academy was boring as usual; few people were awake at this time, and she agreed with the lethargic movements of the ones who were up. She tried, and not for the first time that week, to look around the village for something that might inspire her "stunning act".

It had been a week since Mana had beaten her on Friday, and she found herself wondering if Kira would return to school soon. Befriending the girl would infuriate her father, if nothing else, but she wanted to stun him silent, not just flat out disobey him..

Well, she'd be fine with it pissing him off a little, but she wanted at least ten seconds of silence. Kimiko would have a comment long before then.

Kasumi was contemplating the possibility of a powerful jutsu again, though she'd have to be careful. At the same time, it couldn't be something like the Kage Bushin; it was too commonplace in the ninja world. Learning it would be a milestone, to be sure, but nothing that would get the desired silence.

An idea did strike her though, and she darted off towards the Academy.

"Iruka-sensei might just know something...", she muttered, arriving at the academy sooner than she had expected. She hurried inside, taking care not to seem overly eager as she walked to her classroom. "Perfect...", she muttered, seeing that no one else was here just yet, save for Iruka.

"Ah, good morning Kasumi.", Iruka greeted, smiling, "You're here pretty early."

"I know; I...have a question for you.", Kasumi replied, walking over. Iruka put down the papers he was looking over and gave the Uchiha girl his attention. "I need to learn a jutsu, and I was wondering if you could help."

"It... really depends on the jutsu. Is it something from your family or...what?", he asked, trying to fill in the blanks enough to help the girl. He was rather proud of her for actually coming to him for help.

"You could say it's something _for_ my family... but it's not from the Uchiha clan library, if that's what you mean.", Kasumi replied, making Iruka raise a graying eyebrow.

"What's the jutsu then?", he asked. If it was a Fire jutsu then he'd be rather hurt to tell her that he had no skill with them; his affinity was Water, and it made learning and using fire jutsu rather difficult.

"That's sorta the problem... I don't know."

"If you describe the effects I might be able to help you figure out it's name, if that's what you mean.", Iruka offered. Kasumi shook her head.

"No, I mean I need to learn a jutsu, but I don't know what jutsu."

Iruka gave her a confused look, shifting in his chair for a pensive moment.

"And...why do you need to learn this jutsu?", he asked, deciding that it was a good a place as any to start, because he wasn't sure what she was asking him exactly.

Kasumi flushed and sighed, suddenly realizing how childish her plan sounded.

"My father and sister never really leave me alone about training... I want to learn a jutsu that will stun them both silent.", she replied.

Iruka leaned back, eyes closing for a moment.

"I can't say that I approve of the reason you have, but I've heard worse. As long as it's not for a vindictive purpose, I can give you a list of what I would call "advanced" jutsu.", Iruka offered, "Nothing overly dangerous, mind you, as I can't just give an academy student an S-rank and let them run with it."

"Define advanced...", Kasumi asked, feeling this plan just went out the window.

"Hmm... well, I could probably find a few C-ranks. Do you know what your affinity is?", Iruka asked.

"Fire with Lightning secondary.", Kasumi replied, glad that Sasuke had made her check when she started the Academy.

"It's good that you know your affinity so well. I'd have to check on chakra costs, mind you, but I _might_ be able to find a B-rank Fire Jutsu. for you to practice.", Iruka smiled, "I don't know if I'll be able to find one, given the usually high costs of fire jutsu, but it's good that you want to improve."

"Yeah...thanks Iruka-sensei.", Kasumi replied, stopping herself from sighing. Learning a B rank wouldn't do jack shit for her stunning plan, but she supposed that it was still a B-rank jutsu; something to be personally proud of, at least.

"Not a problem; just make sure to take it easy with the training if I can get the scrolls.", He cautioned, "Don't want you to hurt yourself after all.."

Kasumi nodded, turning and walking towards her seat so that she could hide the frown for a few moments.

She supposed that, in some ways, her plan was a bit outrageous on more fronts than one. Her father and sister were both experienced ninja, and very little surprised either. A high level jutsu might do it, but it was iffy; it would benefit her to learn it regardless of her family's reaction... though she really wanted the two of them to just not have anything to say about it. She was well aware of their skill in hiding any sort of actual surprise,however, and she didn't want to hear "Now get back to training." or "Tch, I could do that when I was half your age"; she wanted silence.

Kasumi picked a seat on the left side of the room, near the windows. As she tried to think of ways to achieve her plan, people started to slowly trickle in. Time seemed to fly by, and it caught her off guard when Iruka called for attention from the front of the room.

"Thank you.", he said when they had all gotten quiet. He was thankful that this class was better behaved than past classes. It meant he didn't have to use his "big head jutsu" nearly as liberally. "I trust all of you remember the mix up that occurred a week ago?"

Kasumi looked up at that, raising an eyebrow at the fact that Kira was standing beside Iruka.

No... that wasn't Kira. The facemask wasn't there, revealing a sharp, yet smooth face. And Kasumi remembered those eyes. A quick glance over let her see that Kira was sitting in her usual seat.

"_So she came after all..."_, she thought to herself. At least that meant that she would have a decent rival.

"This is Kira's sister, Mana Avaron. She'll be joining our class for the remainder of the year.", Iruka explained, "I've received a letter regarding her skill levels, and I am confident that she'll be able to keep up with us. I would appreciate it if we could keep the gossip and chatter down, however, as we still have a lesson today. Would you like to say anything Mana?"

"No, not really.", Mana replied. Kira noted that her voice was a lot smoother when she wasn't shouting out complaints. Then again she doubted her own voice was exactly the image of beauty when she was yelling.

With that the cloaked girl walked forward and up the aisle, taking a seat next to her sister. The one with headphones, Isamu, if she remembered correctly, tapped Mana's shoulder. She didn't think they said anything, but Kasumi raised an eyebrow when he lazily held up a fist and Mana tapped it with her own.

"Do you think she's like her sister then?", someone whispered behind her as Iruka started the lesson. Kasumi realized, with some annoyance, that the two girls sitting behind her were known for being gossip and rumor lovers. She normally didn't have a problem with them, given that they were normally on the other side of the classroom and didn't get in her way. Why they were sitting behind her now was beyond her.

"What do you mean? Freaky and quiet?", the other one asked.

Kasumi sighed, half-listening to Iruka and half-listening to the girls, both for the reason: she couldn't seem to completely block out either one. Normally she would have paid more attention to Iruka, but as the lesson was on Chakra affinities... well, she had enough information about those shoved down her throat by her loving father.

"No, I mean... you know... gay?", the first one said.

"Oh kami, you're still on that?"

"Oh come on, the boys and her deny relationships, and you've seen how close she and that Bisexual Hyuuga girl are!", she whispered, "She doesn't seem interested in any of the boys in class, and she only talks to girls!"

Something finally clicked in Kasumi's head, and she was surprised by the seeming simplicity of it. At the same time, she tried to fight the blush that came along with it.

Her father had forbidden her from associating with Kira. Kimiko, for all her apparent strengths and admittedly accepting personality, was deathly homophobic and of the opinion that such couples simply weren't right because they didn't go with the "natural order" of things. Something about Tab A and Slot B, if she remembered her sister's rant; she had gone off right after she learned that Kasumi had gotten the Talk.

It was...embarrassing to think about, to be sure... but at least showing up at home with Kira and claiming to be gay would definitely shut both of them up for a decent length of time. They might be a little upset right afterwards, but playing it off as a joke might get her out of trouble...or at least most of it. The problem would be getting Kira to agree to it.

"If you're so curious about her tastes, why don't you go find out?", the other girl said, bringing Kasumi back to reality.

"Yeah right... I'd have to lose one hell of a bet to do that."

For all their normal uselessness, Kasumi had to admit that these two were throwing out good ideas left and right.

She'd make a bet with Kira, one stacked in her favor. It couldn't be obvious about what it was for though... something that might seem somewhat normal. She didn't really talk with Kira often though, so it would be a stretch... Mana might be able to fix that though.

"_I'll say that the fight with Mana made me think about Kira's potential. Then, I'll offer Kira another spar to "get to know her a little better"... no, I'll say I want to hang out. Since my normal "screening method" for friends is a fight, I could convince her that I want to fight before we "hang out"... she usually seems eager to talk to me, so she should go for it."_, Kasumi thought to herself. She let a wry smile come to her lips. It might be tricky, but it was coming together nicely; she could hardly wait to see her father and sister's faces! _"Now... the bet needs to be something that will get me what I want, and not be obvious enough that it'll frighten her away. Well... I know, I'll do something like a favor system. The loser has to do either five things for the winner, but they only have a month of the servitude. Whichever comes first will end the servitude. Perhaps a bit extreme, but I'll say that it'll make her more likely to try her hardest. If she askes, I'll just say I need someone to run errands for me."_

"Kasumi, what does a Fire affinity entail?", Iruka asked, drawing her from her thoughts; luckily, she knew this answer by heart.

"It means enhanced proficiency with Fire techniques and a lessened proficiency with Water techniques. This usually translates to how easily you learn the jutsu, and occasionally effects the amount of chakra required to preform the jutsu.", Kasumi replied flawlessly, getting a nod from Iruka, who promptly went back to teaching.

Kasumi smirked as she turned back to her own thoughts, though a blush still lingered on her face. It would be, without a doubt, one of the more risky things she had done thus far. She had been a bit of a trickster when she was little, before Sasuke and Kimiko had started to really push her into training; with any luck, she'd be able to pull this off and dodge the aftermath by claiming it was just a prank.

"_And if Father presses that I was "associating" with Kira, then I'll just tell the truth; I made a bet and won for the sole purpose of the prank. He won't like it, and neither will Kimiko, but I won't be grounded or run into the ground."_, Kasumi thought to herself, Though a blush came to her face. "_It has to be convincing though... I can't just walk in with her five feet away. I'll...I'll put my arm around her waist, and make her do the same; a little enacted bravery and a few trembling words... and hopefully a stunned silence will fall. Then, I let go and dodge the aftermath."_

"Mana, do you know your affinity?", Iruka asked, drawing Kasumi from her thoughts. It was a good chance to find out what she might be facing, since siblings usually had the same affinities, Kasumi realized.

"Technically...Water.", Mana replied, sighing.

"Technically?", Iruka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't ask.", Mana replied, putting her face into her palm. It was so annoying that she had to say water when she was only really skilling with acid and poison techniques. Of course, there was always shadow, but she didn't feel like explaining it.

"Alright... What about you Kira?"

It seemed that he had been asking around the room, if the whispers behind her were any clue.

"Never checked.", Kira replied. In all truth she was good with any element, but it seemed that the aptitude only translated to her magic. Jutsu of any element were almost beyond her. Her affinity for chakra tended to lean towards Fire, but it shifted around every time she used magic.

"Isamu, how about you?", Iruka asked, moving along.

Kasumi tuned him out, hoping that Mana and Kira were one of the few exceptions to the standard. The spar would have to be all out if she wanted a guaranteed win, which would permit her to use some fire jutsu; if Kira could use water then it might be a little more even then what she wanted it to be.

"_It's a risk I'll have to take. Besides, I'm better at taijutsu, so even if she has some a Water affinity and can counter my fire jutsu... well, can't use jutsu if your hands are occupied.", _Kira thought; she was rather proud of herself for thinking about this like she was and planning everything out.

She almost jumped when the bell rang for lunch; today had been flying by. She stood up a moment too late though, and sighed at the sight of the crowd trying to rush out of the room; it wasn't too big of an annoyance, but she hated waiting for them to move. Once out in the hall, however, something caught her attention.

A flash of black from the corner of her eye let her turn in time to see Kira and Mana heading up the stairs to the roof. Normally she would have ignored it and gone to lunch, but given how quickly Kira usually disappeared after school... this might be one of the few chances to wrangle Kira into the bet.

She parted from the group and followed the two, keeping a distance for a time; she knew that Mana had seen her though.

"Why are you following us?", a voice called from the side as Kasumi walked through the door into the stairwell. Kasumi bit back her comment and turned to face Mana, noting Kira standing to her left.

"I... have a proposition for your sister.", Kasumi replied, trying to keep her calm. It was more quelling a blush than steadying herself; she couldn't let them know something was up.

"M-me?", Kira stuttered, surprised. Kasumi nodded. "What...?"

"Mana beat me, and you two are sisters; to me, that means you have the potential to do the same thing.", Kasumi replied, pretending to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Meaning?", Mana asked. Kasumi was starting to view the more direct sister as a slight wrench in the plans.

"Meaning I'm willing to give her a chance to do so; I think the Academy's rules might be holding her back, so I asked my self what might happen if we had a little spar on one of the old training grounds off-campus."

"Why?", Kira asked, seeming to drink in some of her sister's aura for a moment. "Why should I agree to this?"

"You've always been eager to talk to me, and I'm standing here and saying I might have been wrong to ignore you; If you beat me, then I'll stop being so cold.", Kasumi replied, knowing there wasn't a lot on Kira's end; then again, they didn't know what Kasumi would get if she won. "My little method for getting friends also gets me a fair bit of space."

"...what kind of spar are we talking about?", Kira asked, overtaken by the hope that this might be her chance to get closer to the girl. Mana was somewhat cautious, but she couldn't help but feel a little overtaken by her own hope.

"I was thinking... training ground 13, at Ten tonight?", Kasumi offered. She'd have to sneak out, but it wasn't like her parents kept a close watch on her at night; the trust was nice.

"I... I could do that.", Kira said, sending a questioning glance at her sister for a moment, to which Mana gave a shrug. "What are the rules?"

"No kill shots; anything else is perfectly fine.", Kasumi replied, "As I said, the Academy's rules might be what's holding you back, so a little all-out spar might just show me what you're made of. If not, I can add in a little something that might motivate you not to lose."

Kira gulped quietly, trying to block out the mental images. Mana didn't blush, but Kira could tell that they were thinking of the same thing...in varying levels of undress.

"What kind of motivation are we talking about here?", Mana asked, knowing her voice would be a lot more steady than Kira's. Kasumi shrugged.

"Something like... Well, I guess that might be a little much...", Kasumi replied, acting like she was thinking about it. "...hmm... how about five favors?"

"What?"

"Yeah, that'll work. The loser has to do five favors for the winner, but the winner only has a month to "collect"... that way neither one of us will have it hanging over our heads for all eternity.", Kira replied, not liking how Mana's eyes narrowed.

"And what kind of favors would she be doing?", Mana asked, suppressing a growl. Kira was a little nervous too.

"Nothing much; probably just carrying my books or running to the library to pick up a book or two for me.", Kasumi replied, "I really don't have much use for favors, but they'd let me spend a little more time training instead of doing something menial."

Kira bit her lip beneath the mask, thinking it over. She could feel how opposed Mana was to the idea, but something clicked, and she was glad the mask hid the smile.

"...Anything but kill-shots? Meaning... elemental techniques as well?", Kira asked, specifically saying techniques, though she didn't stress the word. Kasumi nodded, feeling she had hooked the girl.

"Yes, as long as they aren't guaranteed to kill the other person. If I could use my father's Chidori, for example, I wouldn't in this fight. You've heard of it, right?", Kasumi asked, feeling that this was a done deal.

"Yes...", Mana replied, wondering why her sister was suddenly so happy about this.

"Alright, you have yourself a spar... and a bet.", Kira agreed, extending her hand. Kasumi was hesitant about shaking it, but she hid it with a light smile.

"Good; remember, Training Ground 13 at Ten sharp.", Kasumi added as she shook her hand. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go eat now."

"If it's alright, I'll accompany Kira tonight; I don't want her alone if you knock her out or something.", Mana replied, getting an elbow in the ribs from her blushing sister.

"That's fine. You can be referee... the loser is the one who either can't move or can't get up for ten seconds.", Kasumi replied, rather relieved that they had agreed so easily. "And... try to keep this quiet."

When both of them nodded, Kasumi turned and walked out of the stairwell, leaving the two of them to their own devices.

"All according to plan.", she muttered to herself, smiling. Between her taijutsu and Fire jutsu, she had this fight in the bag.

"Kira, what the hell are you thinking?", Mana asked, exasperated. "I love you, but you're going to get your ass kicked and...why are you smiling?"

Kira giggled and pulled down her mask for a moment, leaning in to kiss her sister breifly.

"Ninety percent of the magic I know can be called elemental techniques.", Kira replied, pulling up the mask. "She might be better at taijutsu and ninjutsu, but only our moms have me beat with Magic skills!"

She was whispering rather excitedly, smiling broadly behind her mask. Mana let her jaw drop slightly when the reality struck her, though it quickly turned into a grin all it's own.

"Oh you are a crafty little vixen...", she growled, pressing her sister against the wall before pressing herself against her.

"N-not here Mana...", Kira whisper, pushing her sister away. "Tonight after I win that little match, however, is a different story."

Mana sighed, taking a moment to regain her composure.

"Sorry... I'm not used to not being able to do that...", Mana chuckled, scratching the back of her head through the hood. Kira smiled and nodded. "Right... Wow, I feel like a pervert now..."

"You are a pervert.", Kira reminded her, giving her ass a firm squeeze, "And so am I. Now let's get out of here before someone walks in and sees us groping each other. We shouldn't be doing this at school anyway."

"Hey... do you think Kasumi suddenly walking up to us like that was... I dunno, a little strange?", Mana asked as they walked up the stairs. The roof was usually covered in the shadow of a nearby building at this time, and the design of the roof let them just relax in the shade for a few minutes without anyone seeing. Even when she was just supposed to watch from the trees, Mana joined her sister on the roof to relax a little.

"...a little random, I guess, but I'm not complaining.", Kira replied, walking out onto the roof.

"...Deus ex Machina?", Mana asked, giggling. Kira shook her head.

"Mana, this isn't just some story; things don't just randomly happen because some... I don't know, some author in the sky can't figure out what to do.", Kira sighed, "Besides, everything happens for a reason."

"Deus ex Machina doesn't mean things randomly happen, it means that the thing that progresses the story seems to happen out of nowhere.", Mana replied, sweatdropping. It was rather sad that she knew that despite the fact she almost never picked up a book, and Kira had read half of their home library by now. Given the size, she was rather astonished that her little sister hadn't stumbled across it yet.

"Well I'm sure Kasumi didn't just randomly do it; she probably put a lot of thought into it, and then decided to bring it up.", Kira replied in a childish tone, blushing over the mask. Mana shook her head.

"She definitely put some thought into it, I'll give ya that.", Mana sighed, laying down. Kira joined her, a curious look on her face as she laid down, cloak stirring a few leaves.

"You think that she's planning something?", Kira asked, suddenly seeing the possibility now that the initial glamor of the offer had worn off.

"Nothing more than what she said. It seems off, but I've been a "casual observer" of her actions for a while, whereas you've been closer.", Mana countered, shrugging. "I would be cautious, but I don't think she'd be particularly malicious if you do lose."

"The favors are what bug you, right?"

"Tch, I can't hide anything from you.", Mana chuckled while Kira shook her head.

"It would help if you tried once in a while.", she replied, smiling. "So what's up?"

"...I think she's planning on you losing; she wants something from you, some service, that she needs you to be in this kind of situation for.", Mana said, playing with a leaf, "Like I said, I don't think it's anything malicious, but something that she doesn't think you'd agree to otherwise. Given that she doesn't know you that well, she's going with the "safe route" and just making it seem like a relatively harmless bet that will still get her what she wants."

"And how are you so sure it's not malicious?", Kira asked, rolling over to face her sister. Mana shrugged.

"She's cold, and a little stuck up at points, but she's not cruel or evil. She fights with all she's got, but she never goes out of her way to humiliate or hurt an opponent.", Mana said, "I should know, I've watched all her fights."

"...Wow, you sound kinda like a stalker there sis.", Kira replied, smiling and holding back a giggle. Mana choked on her next word and flushed, glaring at Kira.

"I've read your diary. You have no right to call me a stalker.", Mana countered, making her sister blush again.

"I've never... well, stalked her... I mean, watching intently during a fight is...is normal.", Kira defended. Mana laughed and shook her head.

"Yeah, it's the part where you go home and write about how beautiful and graceful the fight was, in almost painful detail, that's a wee-bit obsessive.", Mana reminded her. "But I suppose that we just do things differently... inhuman and all."

"One species' stalker is another species' romantic?", Kira offered.

"I really don't think we're stalkers. Not like we've followed her home or anything.", Mana reminded her. She didn't want Kira to focus on the thought and feel bad. "Humans do weird things when they're crushing on someone, so we're allowed a bit of weirdness... right?"

"Yep!", Kira replied happily, "But if you touch my diary again, you're not getting any for a month."

"Oh...ouch...", Mana groaned, clutching her heart as if she had been wounded, "That's cold... And they say I'm the mean one..."

"That's because they haven't seen what's in the closet.", Kira replied, rolling back unto her back and looking up.

"...True...", Mana replied, almost laughing, "But I don't think one little flogger is going to convince anyone you're the "mean one"."

Kira didn't answer, feeling her ego was at stake. Mana just laughed again and dropped it, knowing she had plenty of time to tease her sister later. She really loved the relationship they had; sex whenever either needed it, and constant love. She was also glad that their crush hadn't torn them apart.

"Hey, Kira? If you win, don't make her do anything extreme.", Mana asked of her sister, looking over, "If she seriously wants this to just be a match to start a friendship, then something...extreme... might kill it before it starts...".

"I...", Kira started, sighing a moment later, "I wasn't going to, but what would I ask her to do?"

"Well you've got a month to figure it out... and about ten hours to figure out how to win in the first place.", Mana reminded her, smiling. "For now though, we've got another ten minutes to laze about, so let's take advantage of 'em."

Kira giggled as Mana closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep for a few minutes. For the girl that was supposed to want to grow into the big, badass dragoness, she was cute as all hell some days.

She supposed that Mana was just like her mother; much more than what met the eye. Then again, weren't they all?

Kira shook her head and focused on remembering the pages from the book of spells she had been reading over the weekend; she had a bet to win, after all, and the demon in her would be damned if she lost it.

* * *

><p>And there's chapter 3. Like I said in chapter 2, don't expect frequent updates; school is back in, and it's going to be killing me for a while. Summer is getting close, but I will be gone for about a week during summer vacation and won't be able to write much then. After that... I dunno.<p>

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the ride so far; next chapter is where things really start getting... interesting.

Also, I have a poll up on my profile regarding a little whim of a story. I'd like a good number of people to vote; it's purely based on opinion, as I just want to know how you'd respond. If you want to vote... GO TO MY PROFILE! That's why I didn't say what the question was... I know most of you would just vote in a review and piss me off.

Ja Ne, My Freaky Darlings!


	4. The Act of Falling

Welcome to chapter 4 of Symphony of the Hunter's Moon, my Freaky Darlings.

I'm sorry for the wait; I had to finish up my junior year of high school. Unfortunately, I have a busy summer ahead of me too... but I'll try my best to keep writing in my free time.

Back to the important stuff though, this chapter has the "duel" between Kira and Kasumi, as well as the aftermath. Once again I must ask for some patience in regards to my portrayal of female characters; keep in mind that I'm male, and I scarcely know how a woman might react to a situation; also keep in mind that these characters are individuals, however, with their own styles of reasoning. I'm trying to keep it somewhat realistic, so bear with me.

This chapter ended up being 30 pages long, which is a switch from what I've been doing lately. I just couldn't stop myself, and I finally hit a "good stopping place" at page 29... the final note, however, took it to 30. I don't know if the next chapters will be this long, but consider this a treat for the wait.

**I've reviewed my plan for this story, and I want to say this now: Kasumi, Kira, and Mana are technically the main characters. Now then, Originally the story was meant to focus on Kira and Mana, but with how I'm planning it, you'll see a lot of it from a sort of... over the shoulder view with Kasumi as well. **

Also, my wonderful girlfriend has decided to help me get the errors, kinks, and otherwise irksome little things out of my stories before I post them, so thank her for the lack of grammatical errors. Love ya hime!

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is a good idea though?", Mana asked, using her powers to keep the cloak close around her, more for the sake of hiding her tail and horns than anything else. Kira did much the same as they dashed along the rooftops, the light of the sun having just dipped below the horizon.<p>

"Don't worry! I have the entire battle thought out.", Kira replied, waving off her sister's worries. The whole thought of five favors from Kasumi had put her in a good mood. She knew Mana was just covering their asses, so she just went with it.

"Fine, but if you lose somehow and she asks you to do something ecchi, it's my foot up her ass; my personal affections be damned.", Mana added at the end.

"She... won't.", Kira replied softly. "She... you know as well as I do that she's not like that."

"We don't know her that well; we're going off of gut feelings mostly.", Mana returned, sighing a moment later, "Though I suppose they're a little more reliable than a human's. Just... keep your head in the game and win."

Kira nodded in return as they neared the rendezvous point. The training ground was a bit out of the way, but it was far enough, like most training grounds, that even in the dead of night it was unlikely that anything but a meteor coming down would disturb Konoha's residents. And there, standing near the training posts, was Kasumi.

Kira felt a slight blush; the crisp night air had made Kasumi's cheeks a bit pinker than normal, making her look rather adorable in the Damphyr's eyes. She glanced over to see Mana shaking off her own blush; it almost took the fun out of it, always knowing that they thought the same way.

"Right on time.", Kasumi greeted, nodding at the sisters. Mana offered a nod in return, making sure that, more out of instinct than anything, she didn't show any weaknesses to the girl. She didn't really like the situation, and her dragonic instincts tended to come into play when she didn't like things.

"We tried to make it out here as soon as possible; I was a little worried that we would be late.", Kira admitted, smiling under her mask.

Kasumi returned a light smile, trying to act friendly for a while longer. All she had to do was beat Kira like she usually did, get her to go home with her, and then enjoy the five seconds. After that, things could possibly go back to normal.

"Shall we get started? The sooner we do this, the less time there is for my parents to notice I'm gone.", Kasumi asked, motioning to the field.

"Sure; no kill shots, and the first one who can't move for ten seconds is the loser, right?", Kira asked, walking over to her side of the "field". Kasumi nodded. "Oh, and this duel will be our secret, okay? I don't think we want anyone at the academy bugging us about it."

"Yes... that would be bad. What happens here, stays here?", Kasumi proposed, getting a nod. "Alright then, whenever you're ready _referee_.". Kasumi sent a nod to Mana, who in turn looked over at her sister.

"I'm ready."

"Well...", Mana began, raising her arm. She offered one last prayer that her sister would win and that Kasumi didn't have something that gave her an unfair advantage. "...Begin!"

After how many times the two had sparred, Kira wasn't too surprised with the hail of shuriken that came from the Uchiha; there were a great deal more, to be sure, but the rules were different now.

Kira whispered the words with practiced haste and diction, holding her ground as all the shuriken missed her. She wasn't great with wind spells, but a basic one to divert the shuriken slightly was well within her grasp... just like most water spells.

Kira, though somewhat surprised her shuriken had missed, was already moving by the time the last blade left her hand.

"Katon: Endan!", she shouted, using Kira's request for elemental techniques to her advantage.

"Water, Rise!", Kira shouted, bringing up her arm like she was trying to preform a sort of slap-uppercut. Following her command, however, water came from the ground and rose in a wall before her; it wasn't as large as she might have been otherwise capable of, but it rendered the fireball useless. "Pierce!"

Kira didn't know what had just happened, but she managed to shake off the surprise in time to jump out of the way of the ice spikes that flew from the steam cloud.

"_What the hell?"_, She swore in her mind as the spikes flew by; she noted that they were somewhat blunt, kunai sized, and not moving overly fast. _"Water... damn, this might be harder than-"_

"Ripple!", Kira shouted, cutting Kasumi's thought off. The Uchiha looked over to see the water fall back to the ground, but was unprepared for the earth beneath her feet to suddenly shift and wobble like she was standing on a river. It lasted for a few moments, but Kasumi recovered in time to see Kira gone from her position in the puddle.

"Where the hell...?", she muttered, activating her Sharingan. The world slowed down a little, and Kasumi knew it would help. "Let's see you catch me off guard now..."

"Gladly."

Kasumi whirled around in time to block a punch, but it sent her skidding back, making her realize that Kira was just as strong as Mana. The fact that her hand wasn't throbbing made her rethink that, however; Mana was still stronger, though Kira seemed faster.

"Ripple!", Kira cried, slamming her palm to the ground; Kasumi anticipated the ground's movement and jumped backwards, making sure to jump as high as possible to try and gain a little more airtime to avoid landing in an affected part of the training ground or while it was still shaking. "Aero!"

Kasumi swore as a strong force struck her legs, sending her flailing as gravity took hold; the strike had enough force behind it to spin her enough to prevent any attempts at a graceful landing.

"Ymer's Maw!", Kira shouted, clasping her hands together like she was making the snake seal. Kasumi managed to rotate enough to land on her back and avoid breaking anything, but just as she was going to spring up, the earth around her rose up and closed around her, leaving only her head and feet out.

"Dammit!", she shouted, suddenly feeling her plan collapsing around her. She struggled against the earth, finding that it seemed to have a varying level of hardness; judging by the twitching of Kira's hands, how tight her grip was corresponded to how compact the earth was... if she fought enough...

"One...Two...Three...Four...", Mana counted, giving a decent amount of time between numbers for the sake of being fair. She was rather surprised that Kira had beaten Kasumi that easily; her magic was a little more powerful than Mana had given her credit for.

"_!"_, Kasumi mentally swore, trying to get her hands into a position to preform Kawarimi; it was the one jutsu she could do one handed.

"Five...Six...Seven..."

"_Just a little further..."_

"Eight...Nine...Ten. Kira wins.", Mana declared, knowing full well that it had been closer to fifteen seconds.

"Whew... that was fun!", Kira exclaimed, releasing her hands and moving them down to return the earth to it's rightful place instead of leaving Kasumi buried under it. The kitsune-damphyr walked over to the Uchiha, smiling, "That was a good spar, Kasumi; you were right, I just needed to get away from the academy."

"...right...", was the only "friendly" response the Kasumi could manage. On the inside, she was fuming; her plan had officially backfired, and now she was in debt to the girl. In an effort to retain some semblance of being calm, her pseudo reason for this spar had proven fruitful; Kira had beaten her, and that made her qualified for being a friend. She had a feeling neither would particularly want to be friends if they learned of what she had planned, but it might prove useful in the future.

At the moment though, it was the only thing that kept her from exploding.

"Well, that was... quick.", Mana sighed, walking over. Her casual tone infuriated Kasumi, but the Uchiha girl hid it well.

"You... caught me off guard. Not many can use two different elements in the academy.", Kasumi congratulated, actually half-way sincere. It was also a distraction.

"Actually... I can use all of them.", Kira admitted, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

"Oh...", was all that Kasumi could say, eye twitching. _"And she doesn't use ANY in the academy? What the hell?"_

"Alrighty then... about those favors...", Kira started, glad the mask hid her blush. Mana sent a look at her sister that Kasumi caught; it seemed like one of mild annoyance.

"Don't overdo it Kira... this was just a friendly little competition, after all... right?", she directed the last part at Kasumi, who was slightly caught off guard by the switch.

"O-of course! What else would it be?", She asked, cursing herself for stuttering.

"I wasn't going to... do anything big...", Kira admitted after a moment. Kasumi had to admit that she was suddenly worried about the favors she had to preform. "...Alright, I've got it!"

"Wonderful...", Kasumi deadpanned, trying to withhold a sigh.

"You have to take Mana and me on a date!"

Kasumi and Mana seemed to choke on air in unison, sending her the same incredulous look a few seconds later.

"Look, I don't know what the hell people say about me, but I'm not... wait, you're actually gay?", Kasumi cut herself off, half surprised that the rumors were true.

"Yeah...so?", Kira asked, folding her arms defensively. "Look, we'll go to the park; it'll just look like three girls hanging out. I know you're probably worried about your image."

"Why the hell do I have to take you both?", Kasumi pressed, trying to figure out why the situation had gotten this unreal.

"We're... a set. You don't get one without the other.", Mana supplied, looking away. "That... and we... both sort of have a...we both..."

"You can't be serious...", Kasumi facepalmed. "Look, I can... understand Kira; she's "known" me since the first year at the academy. I've barely known you for twelve hours, total."

"Our father... wanted me to keep an eye on Kira while she was at school, so he sent me to watch her from the tree line. I saw you... and kinda...liked what I saw. It didn't help that Kira keeps a very detailed diary."

"Hey!"

"Great, so I have an fangirl and a stalker, and I have to take them both on a date; not big on the whole being gay thing, by the way.", Kasumi sighed, rubbing her temples, "Can't you just make me run some errands or something?...what?", she asked, seeing the looks she was getting.

"I am not a fangirl; I train very hard, and keep my mind on my career. I just happen to think your a beautiful and strong kunoichi.", Kira snapped. "Mana has trained harder than I have, and hasn't had the opportunity to talk to you for a long period of time; it doesn't mean she's a stalker just because she has feelings for you. We're not asking you to sleep with us, we're asking you to come with us to the park so we can get to know each other outside of being kunoichi."

Kasumi was somewhat taken aback by the sharp and almost angry tone that Kira had; she had heard the girl when she was annoyed, but Kasumi had never imagined that it was actually possible for her to get angry. Mana, after taking a sidelong glance at her, seemed slightly less shocked, but a little surprised nonetheless.

"Err...sorry about that...", Kira suddenly apologized, giving an eye smile while a blush creeped above her mask. "I..get a little snappy when someone insults Mana."

"...Whatever...", Kasumi replied, shaking her head, opening frowning. "When do I have to be there?"

"Uh... how about five or six? We can meet at the north pond... do you know where that is?", Kira asked, "There are little maps all over the place if you don't..."

"Fine, I'll be there at six. If you're not there, I'm going home.", Kasumi replied, turning and walking off. Once she was out of sight, Mana turned to Kira with a somewhat annoyed expression

"That was "not anything big"? What the hell were you thinking?", Mana asked, gently whacking Kira upside the head. "I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm pretty sure that it freaked her out."

"Hey, I never asked her to sleep with us or anything, and I'm not going to. All we're going to do is walk and talk tomorrow... maybe get a little food.", Kira defended, poking Mana's shoulder. "And, if memory serves, I owe you something tonight... if that will make you drop it."

"...I don't think tomorrow is going to end well; I want it to, I really do, but...", Mana sighed, shaking her head. "Sex tonight and hope tomorrow?"

"Thank you; I really think that she'll warm up to the idea once she gets to know us a little. After all, it's not like we're going to be trying to screw on the first date or anything... we're being proper ladies about this, right?", Kira asked, nudging Mana.

"You realize that we haven't been on a date before, right?", Mana responded, sweatdropping. "How the hell am I supposed to act like a proper lady anyway? I'm a dragon for kami's sake."

"Well then don't kidnap the fair damsel then, oh dragoness.", Kira teased, getting a firm slap on the ass as a response.

"Then it looks like I'm settling for taking a little kitsune.", Mana purred, eyes gleaming in the dim, fading light. "Now let's get back; I'll drop it if you beat me home."

"And if I don't?"

"Then neither one of us is getting sleep tonight, and I'll be too tired to talk about it in the morning."

"Sounds like a win win situation to me.", Kira giggled.

"Only if you don't plan on sitting down; I know where you keep your flogger."

Kira paled and took off after her sister, who had shot off after having said that. She only hoped that she and Mana could contain themselves if Kasumi somehow accepted them.

(The Next day, Park)

Kasumi, for lack of better words, was slightly pissed. Having thought out the situation, she found that it was totally against what she had set up as "okay" in her mind. Maybe it was just her time with her sister, and the notion that going against her father's wishes was a bad idea, but this whole thing seemed like the worst possible way to spend her time; were it not for her pride in her word, she wouldn't have come.

"Maybe they aren't even at the pond...", She told herself, hoping that they were delayed and she could just go home; she had given them warning in advance.

"Hey, Kasumi!", a voice called from her left. She reluctantly looked over to see Kira and Mana approaching. Both had their black cloaks on, much to her annoyance, though she noted that Kira had her mask off; her face was just as smooth and regal looking as Mana's, yet somehow feral in a completely different manner than her sister.

"And here I was thinking you weren't going to show up.", Mana remarked once they were close enough; her expression was what Kasumi would call cautiously optimistic, while Kira seemed absolutely ecstatic.

"The word of an Uchiha is their bond; I said I would be here, and so I am." Kasumi replied matter-of-factly. "But I am not holding any hands, and no one is getting kissed or hugged at any point today, got it?"

"Calm down; you're supposed to just get to know each other on the first date, right?", Kira replied, hands up in a placating gesture, "It's Saturday anyway; let's just relax and walk a bit, neh?"

"Kira's right; we just wanna get to know you a bit better. Nothing heavy or anything.", Mana added, smiling. Normally she was against using her suggestion powers, but she laced her smile with one that endeavored to make the Uchiha in front of her relax.

"...Tch, fine. Where are we going?", Kasumi asked, waiting for one of them to move. She didn't want to walk between them, however.

"It's a park, silly. We just pick a direction and walk!", Kira replied, rather enthused. Seeing that Kasumi wasn't moving however, she started walking towards the west path that lead into a somewhat forested area of the park; she couldn't hide her somewhat faltering smile from Mana, though Kasumi missed it entirely. Kira managed to fix her expression as Kasumi took up a position to her right while Mana walked to her left.

"So... what's your favorite color?", Mana asked after a few minutes of silence. It was a poor start, but it was better than nothing in her opinion.

"I don't really have one."

"Oh... I like green and black myself.", Mana added, trying to provide a bit about herself to see if that put the girl a little more at ease. It didn't.

"Personally I prefer amethyst and a deep, bloody crimson.", Kira threw in, smiling at Kasumi. "Not quite the color of your sharingan... but close."

"My Sharingan is a weapon, not a painting. It should be used, not admired.", was the quick retort. Mana hid her aggravated eye twitch by looking away for a moment, while Kira let a somewhat disheartened expression come to her face for a faction of a second.

"Alright... any hobbies? I paint when I have the time.", Kira added, smiling.

"I train."

"Don't we all...", Mana muttered. This was already doing a nosedive.

"Quite frankly I'd rather be training right now.", Kasumi replied, having heard Mana's remark.

"Well you can't train all the time... you should really take some time to relax.", Kira interjected, sensing her sister's coming remark. "We're just trying to relax a bit here, you know... we train a lot too."

"Whatever."

Mana sighed, not liking the look on her sister's face; Kira was trying to deny what was happening, and trying to hold on to her dreams of Kasumi falling in love with her. She was hiding behind a smile.

A few more minutes passed in silence, and Mana had to admit that it was a little uncomfortable. Kasumi seemed to be more and more against being with them as time went on, and she could feel Kira scrambling for some idea that might keep her interested. Mana felt that Kasumi was putting up walls for a reason, and part of her wanted to know what was beyond those walls; perhaps that really was the base of her crush. Undoubtedly it was partially physical, but she did feel some attraction to the girl from another source. She didn't really know what it was, but she wanted to if only because with how bitchy Kasumi was acting... it didn't make a good case for why she was worth Mana's affections.

"So what's the deal with you two?", Kasumi finally asked, the question and concept having irked her since the night before. Kira perked up at having a question to answer.

"Well... we're sisters...", Kira started, realizing how this might sound to her.

"But you said you were a set; that's what I'm asking about.", Kasumi pressed.

"Oh... well...uh... I don't really know how to put this...", Kira stammered, knowing full well that she had to word it-

"I'm fairly sure the lovers would cover what we are."

-carefully.

Kasumi's face took on a look of disgust as Mana said that.

"But you're sisters!", she replied, "It's incest...it's... messed up."

"Technically we're half-sisters...", Kira added, hoping that it would somehow make this okay in Kasumi's eyes.

"You're related; you should be doing things like that.", Kasumi replied, stopping to turn towards the sisters.

"You're assuming a lot right now.", Mana said with a glare; she steeled herself for the next for minutes, trying to keep in mind that Kira was a little more emotionally delicate than herself. "And you don't have the right to dictate what's right and wrong."

"You two are_ sisters_; you shouldn't be calling yourselves lovers, for the love of kami!", Kasumi repeated; it was like they couldn't understand what she was saying to them.

"H-hey! There's a pond over there; let's go skip some stones!", Kira interjected, voice shaky. She grabbed Mana and Kasumi by their wrists and dragged them to the water's edge. "Did you ever skip stones as a kid?"

"No.", Kasumi replied, tone sharp.

"Then take this and I'll show you-"

"I don't want to even be here, and I sure as hell don't want to learn how to skip a stone.", Kasumi shot back, finally having reached the final straw. Kira was trying to change the subject.

"Kasumi, please calm down. W-we're just trying to have fun-"

"Guess what? It's not fun.", Kasumi cut Kira off, frowning. "I only came because I needed to keep my word. I don't like the fact I'm wasting time here when I could be training, I don't really like either of you, and I sure as hell don't think it's right that you two can call each other sisters and lovers. It. Is. Not. Right."

"But-"

"I am not gay, and I don't really think it's right that either of you are gay. This was a waste of my time, and a waste of yours if you were trying to get me to feel something for you."

Kasumi watched, still angry, as Kira's smile faltered, trying to twitch into a frown but never quite making it; the sight of tears welling up in her eyes and running down her cheeks, all while her expression struggled to stay happy, was a little pitiful in Kasumi's eyes. Then, with speed that actually surprised the Uchiha, Kira whirled around and shot off, moving almost as fast as Kimiko could.

Kasumi turned to Mana, who seemed to be struggling with an eye twitch.

"Got a probl-ech!", was all that Kasumi could get out before she found herself pinned to a tree by Mana's forearm against her throat. She realized that, somehow, they were now in the middle of a forested area, with the pond nowhere in sight; a second realization brought to her attention that she couldn't move any of her limbs.

"Yes, I have a fucking problem.", Mana growled out, eyes glowing in the shadows of the tree and her hood. "That was my little sister you just bitched at, and you didn't have a good fucking reason for doing it either."

"You-"

"Shut it; I'm not in the mood to hear you start bitching at me right now.", Mana cut her off, tightening her shadow's grip on Kasumi's arms and legs. "I don't know why you're such a bitch; I don't know what you're trying to protect behind that act; I don't know why my sister and I like you so much. I'm very aware, however, of how much pain I want to inflict upon you for hurting her like that."

Kasumi tried to respond, but Mana cut her off by applying more pressure to her throat.

"Yeah, I know that society thinks that sisters shouldn't be lovers, and that the general opinion of Konoha's public is that being gay is bad; you know what? I don't care. I love Kira, and she loves me. We keep each other safe and mentally stable. I cannot fathom why she loves you too, just like I don't know why I love you enough to not kill you right now.", Mana trailed off, releasing the pressure on Kasumi's throat. "I want you to go home, and think really fucking hard about what your opinion about Kira and me is. Not your family's opinion, not the public's opinion. I want you to use that little brain of yours, and come up with your own opinion. Then, next time you seem us, you're going to tell us like a rational human and not bitch at us because we don't fit with your idea of 'right and wrong.'"

"I know you were up to something when you challenged Kira to a spar,", Mana continued, making Kasumi's eyes widen. "And I know now that this was a temper tantrum, thrown by a little girl who didn't get her way. I don't know what you wanted, but you didn't get it, and you're not going to. When you're ready to grow up...", Mana paused for a moment, seemingly stopping herself from continuing that thought, "...Just stay the hell away from my little sister until then. If you make her cry again, I will cause you great physical harm. I won't kill you, if only for her, but you'll be amazed at what you can live through."

Mana withdrew her arm and shadow, taking a step back and letting Kasumi fall to the ground. The Uchiha girl coughed a few times but quickly picked herself up as Mana walked away.

"Just going to leave me in the middle of the woods then?", Kasumi called after her, angry at the 'humiliation'. The glare that Mana shot over her shoulder was... frightening.

"...the path is a hundred yards to the left. Turn left, and you can follow it back to the pond we were at.", Mana replied, growling. She didn't bother to hide her powers, simply walking into the shadow of an oak and shadow-stepping towards home. She couldn't go all the way in one step like her father could, but she didn't want to waste time with just walking.

Kira was hurting, she could feel that much even from this distance, and she knew that she needed some comfort. Mana had a feeling that this "date" was a bad idea, but she had hoped that she was wrong. She had hoped that the woman that Kasumi could be, the woman that Mana and Kira had fallen in love with, would shine through the wall that Kasumi had built up. Instead, they were left standing at a locked gate, and Mana had to make sure that Kira was still intact after this.

**(I was going to end it here... but I don't want to bum any highs.)**

(Later)

Using the guise of being tired, Kasumi had managed to hide the red mark on her neck from her mother, simply slipping by and going into her room. Her excuse for leaving to go to the park was actually a lie claiming that she needed to go to the library and study a little.

"Crazy...", Kasumi started, muttering a few other unsavory words under her breath while she looked at the red mark on her neck with her mirror. It was fading, but she could still imagine the pressure on her throat a little too vividly for her liking. "Not my fault that they made some wrong decisions."

What Mana had said was starting to bother her, however. Perhaps coming down off of her "anger high", coupled with the, now admittedly begrudging, respect that she had for Mana... it had left her a little confused.

"What does she mean, not my family's opinion?", she muttered, grabbing a robe and a few towels from her closet. "Of course it's my opinion."

She shook her head and went out her door, making sure to close it behind her. Deciding that a soak would take her mind off of things, she walked towards her private bathroom. She supposed that, at one point, it had been shared between a few people, but given the size of the family... she had the massive tub and shower all to herself, while her family also had their own bathrooms.

Kimiko was home, if the light from her room was anything to go by, but Kasumi was glad that she was too busy to come out and bother her. A few turns later left her at her bathroom door, which she promptly locked behind her.

"Someone has probably been spreading rumors about my sexuality... if those two honestly thought I was gay.", she muttered, letting hot water fill the tub. While the water level slowly rose in the massive tub, she took off her clothes and threw them into the hamper by the door. "...Dammit...", she muttered, seeing some red marks on her arms and legs as well, "How the hell...?"

Kasumi shook her head and, seeing she still had a little bit before the water level was high enough, she reached behind her head and undid her hair tie. She ran a hand through her raven hair, smiling slightly; it was one of the few simple pleasures that she could get away with.

"I'll take a proper shower later; right now, relaxation takes priority.", Kasumi muttered, turning off the water and slipping into the steaming bath. She let a small moan out as she settled in, reaching over to the cabinet by the tub and pulling out a little bath pillow that her mother had bought for her one day. "And now...", Kasumi started, taking a deep breath, holding it, and then exhaling with the hope of her tension going with it.

Kasumi tried to let her mind go blank, but something kept her firmly embedded in the waking world. She tried shifting around in the water, thinking that she might have just been in a weird position somehow.

"_Maybe you should just think about things, and then maybe you'll find what's bugging you."_, she thought to herself. Kasumi groaned slightly, having a bad feeling that this was going to bring back her habit of thinking to herself like her thoughts were a different person.

"There's nothing to think about.", she muttered, closing her eyes. For a moment, she saw the twin emeralds gleam in the dark, making her eyes open with a groan.

"_It probably wasn't smart to be that way to them."_

"How else was I supposed to "be"?", she muttered, keeping her voice low. "I'm not gay, and I don't want to be. It's not right."

"_Do you really think that, or is that Kimiko talking?"_

"Of course it's my opinion; Kimiko has nothing to do with this.", Kasumi folded her arms, watching some of her hair float in the hot water.

"_Then why is it wrong?"_

"I...it's...", Kasumi started, growling in annoyance a moment later, "Tab A, Slot B. There."

"_Do you even know that that means?"_

"It means... it means that it's not in the natural order of things."

"_According to Kimiko. Do you really see anything wrong with it? What bad things come from being with someone of the same gender?"_

"...", Kasumi could think of a counter for that thought, and just let it keep going.

"_A gay couple can be just as happy as a straight couple. If they want kids, they can adopt. There's nothing that a straight couple can do that a gay couple couldn't, and vice versa. Why is it wrong?"_

"...Fine, maybe I shouldn't have gone off on that, but they're sisters; they shouldn't be doing that.", Kasumi countered. It wasn't the first time she had argued with herself.

"_You need to love someone you can trust; maybe those two just trust each other. Just because you would never do that with Kimiko doesn't mean that siblings all over the world are going to hate each other. Besides, the problem with incest is the possibility of children with genetic defects. Mana and Kira can't have kids by the other, so that's moot point."_

"I still don't like it; it's not right to... do that with family."

"_They never said what kind of lovers they were, though it's pretty heavily implied. But it's not like they're asking you to be Kimiko's lover. They just both like you, and they're sisters; they don't want to break their own bonds because of you."_

"There's another thing; you should only have one partner."

"_Says who?"_

"The general public."

"_Who also had opinions on being gay and incest being wrong not matter the circumstances."_

"Would you just shut up?"

"_I'm telling myself to shut up; it doesn't work like that."_

"Then get to the damn epiphany and let me enjoy my soak."

"_You were pissy because you couldn't manipulate Kira."_

Kasumi gained a sour look when she thought that.

"I didn't want to manipulate her-"

"_But you wanted to make her do something without giving her the option of refusing; you lured her into a trap that would have given you control over her for the purpose of your childish stunt, and your plan backfired."_

"All I wanted-"

"_And you wanted to act like you were a couple, a gay couple, during this little stunt. Not to mention you really had the intention of dropping her like a rock afterwards. Yet when she beat you, she didn't have anything vindictive for the favors; she wanted to take you on a date, where the three of you could get to know each other better while relaxing. She was trying to be nice, didn't even ask for you to act like you were interested, and you snapped at her and Mana because they didn't fit your sister and father's idea of an "okay couple". Kimiko because they're gay, and your Father because he apparently has some problem with that family. The only thing that you could have complained about was the incest, and that has no real issues now that you think about it."_

"...", Kasumi had no response to her own logic. Now that she had finally relaxed, she couldn't hold on to the anger that made her flawed logic seem perfect to her. She groaned and put her face into her palm, sighing a moment later. "Fine... I'll apologize tomorrow. They didn't deserve that."

She sighed and sank into the water a little more, suddenly feeling a bit more worse for wear than she had been when she got into the bath.

"_I hate epiphanies."_, she thought to herself, getting out of the tub so she could just take a proper shower and go to sleep early. She wasn't going to see Kira and Mana till monday, and she had no idea where they lived either... which meant she had a day to figure out how to make a good apology to the two.

(Monday)

It was a rather bittersweet feeling for Kasumi.

Kira and Mana didn't show up for class, which got the class gossips going of course. Kasumi spied Kira's "group" talking amongst themselves, rather confused, so she decided to hazard a guess that no one knew where they were. Which meant she had to go find them.

In all truth the extra time did little for her apology plan; she had never done something like this before, and it's not like there were a plethora of books that described ways to meaningfully apologize for criticizing another's life choices. Life choices she really didn't understand, for that matter; she was slightly worried that she might make it worse if she said the wrong thing, but she had too much pride to simply ask for help. Not to mention she'd have to explain the situation if she did ask for help.

While Iruka rambled on about various traps, something she had studied last week, Kasumi took a moment to try and wrap her mind around a few things, if only to help with her apology.

First on her mind was the simple fact that she was apologizing for calling incest wrong. To her, the thought was... admittedly disturbing. Kasumi took a moment to look at it from a wider perspective, however.

"_You're not supposed to love someone unless you trust them... so they might just not trust anyone that way. Sure, Kira has friends, but she and Mana disappear fairly quickly after school... not going to think about what they might be doing."_, Kasumi cut that thought off before she could blush from it. _"Why would I blush anyway? It's not like I'm gay or anything."_

"_But they are, and they're interested in you."_

"_Thank you Ms. Voice-in-the-back-of-my-head, now please go away."_, Kasumi retorted, wondering if the madness that ran in her family was hitting her early. Still, it brought up another point she had to think of... _"Why be gay anyway? I guess it was a little foolish to just go with my sister's argument of Tab A and Slot B... but why would someone want to... I mean, girls see guys as attractive, and guys see girls as attractive. That's... natural."_

"_No less natural than a girl finding another girl attractive. It could be a rebellious thing, but sometimes women just don't trust men. Other times, its simply one woman having feelings for another."_

"_I love how you know things I don't."_, Kasumi replied, sarcasm heavy.

"_I don't. I just think differently."_

"_Great. I think I'm the youngest Uchiha in history to lose her mind."_, Kasumi let out a discreet sigh, turning her attention to the overcast sky outside the window. She did realize something a moment later, which did succeed in brining a blush to her face. Luckily no one was paying attention and it wasn't the sort of atomic blush that some other girls were wont to do. _"Wait... they... had a crush on me..."_

"_Yes... your point?"_

"_So... they thought I was... attractive?"_

It was a rather odd feeling that accompanied the realization; no one had called her pretty or attractive since her boyfriend, and even then she could tell it had been half-assed. Of course her mother occasionally teased her by calling her ninja outfit pretty on her, but that didn't count. She was suddenly reminded of how regal Mana and Kira looked, and she felt a little plain in comparison. The thought of another woman, two actually, finding her attractive produced a mixed feeling.

"_I-it's a nice compliment, but I'm not gay."_

"_You could be."_

The whole world screeched to a halt for Kasumi, leaving her with a somewhat blank yet stunned expression. Luckily, once again, no one seemed to notice as the girl gained another blush.

"_No, I couldn't... could I?"_

"_...Well there's no use if you don't want to be. Kira and Mana might be rather thrilled if you switched teams though... provided they accept your apology."_

"_I don't even know how to BE gay! Besides, aren't you my subconscious? Can't you just tell me if I'm gay?"_

"_It would take the fun out of it... besides, asking yourself questions usually ends with an answer you don't want. Look at last night's epiphany."_

"_It was needed though... and... now that I think on it, it was a little wanted. Look, just tell me; then I can just go back to-"_

"_Technically you are gay."_

"_My nor...mal...what?"_

"_Mana and Kira are the only two who have beaten you; based on your own standards, this makes them your friends... technically your only friends. Your own personality would require, should you date, to pick someone from a group of friends... which is currently comprised of two women. You also have a natural aversion to men because of your ex-boyfriend, and literally haven't even had a subconscious thought regarding ANY form of attraction to males; no dreams, no trains of thought, no flights of fancy. You don't remember it, but you did have a dream about Mana and Kira last night."_

"_...I've lost it. I have officially succumbed to the Uchiha Madness."_

"_Told you that you wouldn't like the answer. It's a technicality, since sexuality is generally defined by what gender you have sex with, or want to have sex with; you're a virgin, so by that definition you have no real sexuality. At the same time it's YOUR sexuality. You define it how you see fit. As it stands, however, you admittedly find Mana and Kira pleasing to look at, even though you've only seen their faces, and you have fantasized."_

"_If it's a dream I can't remember, I don't see how that counts."_, Kasumi countered, flushed. The bell for lunch decided to ring at that moment, resulting in a stampede of genin-hopefuls rushing out the door. Kasumi stood and walked after them, reminding herself that she had forgotten her lunch and needed to get something from the vending machines in the lobby.

"Kasumi, are you alright? You're a little red.", Iruka pointed out, walking over to the girl. "I can write you a pass to the nurse if you want."

"N-no, I'm fine. I just realized that I left my bento at home; I haven't done that before.", Kasumi explained, thinking fast to hide the fact that her mind had suddenly taken a less than pure turn.

"Ah; don't worry about it too much, everyone makes mistakes here and there. I can loan you some money to get something from the vending machines if you need some.", Iruka offered; Kasumi was reminded of his almost infinite kindness.

"No, I have enough. Thanks though.", Kasumi replied, turning to walk away, but a thought occurred to her suddenly. Kira's friends weren't fond of her, from what she understood, and even if they knew where Kira lived, it was unlikely that they'd tell her. "Iruka-sensei, do you know where Mana and Kira live?"

"Hmmm... you know, I'm not sure if that's even on their records.", Iruka replied, putting a hand on his chin as he tried to remember. "Of course, I don't have them all memorized. Why do you need to know?"

"Oh... I... lost a bet; I owe Kira something.", Kasumi replied, taking care not to screw herself over with a lie.

"Don't get in the habit of betting; it can ruin a person. But I suppose paying your debts is admirable, and you are going out of your way...", He trailed off, thinking, "Alright, it's not like general records are confidential information. Go ahead and get your lunch, I'll go dig a bit and let you know after class. Fair?"

"Hai. Arigatou, Iruka-sensei.", Kasumi said with a smile, turning and walking out to get her lunch after Iruka returned a smile.

It didn't take long for her to decide on what to get from the vending machines; a small bag of candy and a soda. While her family did try to run the "healthy route", Kasumi didn't exactly feel like going with the norm at the moment. On a whim she decided to eat on the roof, part of her wondering if Kira and Mana would be hiding up there, laughing while everyone thought they were gone.

"Figures...", Kasumi muttered, seeing no one on the roof. A tree grew close to the wall of the building and towered high enough to block out a great deal of the sun; she could see why the sisters would enjoy it up here. The shade and cooling breeze, even though it was spring, was refreshing. "Though I guess they're half sisters... do they have the same father and different mothers or something?"

The thought was rather odd, and it seemed that almost everything about the two girls was odd, though interesting nonetheless. Kasumi sighed and put the candy in her shuriken pouch; today was a lecture day, so she hadn't brought her weapons. She knew it might have been foolish, but at the moment she didn't really care.

"I need to stop trying to make plans. They always spiral out of control.", she muttered to herself, thinking back to her plan as she sat down and leaned against the wall. She recalled how much she wanted to see her father and sister silent, and how it now seemed like a distant memory. "Coming in and pretending to be gay... tch. Childish.", she whispered, cracking open her soda. It tasted like strawberries, but the carbonation was still a bit new to her. She glanced down at some of the pink liquid that was trapped on the lip of the can.

For some reason, it reminded her of something her sister had done once with a previous boyfriend. They'd drink from the same glass, throwing each other looks as they made sure their lips touched the same place over and over again. Of course, she'd seen a few others do it in passing, and it seemed that soda cans were popular in whatever little ritual it was.

"I wonder if it would taste like Mana if she drank from this...", Kasumi muttered, turning the can and watching the liquid run along the lip. Her eyes widened and a fiery blush spread across her face as she realized what she had said out loud. She came to notice, however, that up here everything else seemed distant. Even the other students having lunch on the ground, technically right on the other side of the wall, seemed miles away. She was alone with her thoughts, and even the persistent voice seemed a bit silent suddenly.

Kasumi eyed liquid again, imagining the sisters taking quick sips and thanking her before heading off; reality and her little daydream came together as she looked at the liquid left against the lip. Alone, she half-reminded herself, she brought the can back up and took another drink, almost let down because there was nothing but the taste of strawberries.

"_...I need help. I'm sitting on a roof, pretending to drink from the same can as Mana and Kira despite the fact that they're Kami-knows-where, and I'm..."_, Kasumi stopped herself. _"People... don't just change. It takes time."_

"_Even two seconds counts as time."_

"_I bitched them out Saturday, feeling with every fiber of my being at the time that their life style was wrong... It's been less than fourty-eight hours. I'm not... I couldn't be suddenly... I don't suddenly change like that."_

"_Are you scared that they don't like you anymore?"_

"_...Just shut up. Come back when I'm thirty and having my mid-life crisis."_

Kasumi quickly downed the rest of the soda, as if it would shut her thoughts up. It burned a little for a moment, but it quickly passed, leaving an annoyed feeling within the girl.

"I'm just going to find them, apologize, and worry about this later. Any more of this and it'll make me sick.", Kasumi told herself, shaking her head as she walked back downstairs.

She made it back to class just as the bell rang, but it seemed that the rest of class was similar to a movie where someone had pressed fast forward. Before she knew it, everyone was leaving, and she was no closer to a coherent apology or an answer in regards to what she was going to do afterwards.

"Kasumi, are you sure you're alright? You've been zoning in and out for the last hour.", Iruka asked, snapping Kasumi out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm... alright.", she replied. "Just a little tired."_"Of thinking about this."_

"...Make sure to get some rest tonight. Tomorrow is a sparring day; you don't want to zone out during that.", Iruka advised, holding up a sheet of paper a moment later. "As for your question... I'm afraid that it's not provided on their information. However...", he added, seeing the dejected look start to come on, "There is a note on Kira's sheet that says, and I quote: If, for any reason, Kira must be contacted at home, then the person wishing to visit may see the Hokage for information. Now, I don't know why Hinata-sama would do this, but I suppose there's a reason."

"...Great..."

"It doesn't say that you have to be a teacher; besides, Hinata-sama is a very kind lady who... admittedly takes any break she can. I don't know how she still manages to get all her paperwork done.", Iruka muttered. Upon seeing Kasumi's raised brow, he chuckled, "When Hinata-sama was appointed, the Hokage's office was a bit short-staffed suddenly, so I volunteered to help out. She works diligently, but with how many breaks she takes and the amount of paperwork that piles up on her desk... I just don't know how she does it."

"So you think they're going to just let me walk right into the Hokage's office to ask where Kira lives?"

"You'd be surprised; Hinata-sama... does things a bit differently than most might think. It won't hurt to go see if she can answer a quick question though; it doesn't take an hour to explain where someone lives.", Iruka pointed out. "If you need an excuse, just tell them you need to drop off the work they're missing."

"We didn't do anything today; you just lectured...", Kasumi sweatdropped. Iruka shrugged.

"Well I could always give you a couple hundred sheets of work to carry all over Konoha if you'd prefer...", he said, walking over to his desk. Kasumi was gone by the time he turned around. "Geez... it's not like a couple hundred sheets are that heavy."

Kasumi had decided that, for the sake of keeping to some kind of schedule, she needed to just hurry up and get to the Hokage's tower. She had seen it, of course, and her father had shown her the council chamber in the building next to it that connected to the tower, but she had never met the Hokage... or even seen her for that matter. In fact, she hardly remembered ever really hearing about the Rokudaime. A couple lessons from class had told her that the Rokudaime was one Hinata Hyuuga, a 41-year-old with skill that supposedly surpassed the previous Kages in terms of raw strength, speed, and chakra amount. Her skill with water jutsu, as well as her ability to almost instantly heal any wound on her body was well known as well.

Yet for some reason, other than that, she had never really heard about the Rokudaime again.

"Hello; may I help you?", a voice called, snapping Kasumi from her thoughts as she reached the top floor. The secretary was blond with an almost painfully sincere smile and green eyes.

"Yes. I'm here to see the...Hokage...", Kasumi replied, suddenly realizing that she had no idea what to say. "I... uh... my friend was absent today, and when I asked my sensei about checking her information to see where she lived, it was a little note that said to-"

"Slow down; Are you referring to Kira Avaron?", the secretary asked. Kasumi nodded, and the blond pressed a button. "Hinata-sama, there's someone here inquiring about the Avaron residence."

"Perfect timing; go ahead and send them in.". The voice was smooth, calm, and powerful. Kasumi was a little surprised to see the secretary swoon a little upon hearing it.

"Err... you... didn't see that. Just go on in...", she said, realizing she 'had an audience'.

Kasumi nodded before walking over to the large oaken door, taking a deep breath before opening it and stepping inside.

"Good evening.", Hinata greeted, her voice giving the impression of having a breeze made of silk wash over you. Coupled with the dim light that came through the curtains, the dark walls, and the scent of incense... it was a rather unique experience. "Please, come over and sit down. If you're inquiring about the Avaron household, this may take a moment."

Kasumi walked over and sat down in one of the large chairs before the grand oak desk. As Hinata took a moment to compose her thoughts, Kasumi decided to take a look at the reclusive Rokudaime.

She didn't seem to be overly tall, though at the same time there was a certain presence to her that made her seem bigger. She wore a white kimono with red accents, most of which only further complimented her figure, though it was still somehow modest. Her eyes were, surprisingly, not the normal Hyuuga style; they were a light crimson, with the outlines of the iris fading into what should have been the whites of her eyes, which were a slightly lighter red. Her hair was long and a deep purple color, though a single lock seemed to curl up in a spiral. The comedic little bit of hair somehow didn't kill the woman's image... which was shockingly youthful, despite how old she was supposed to be.

"Forgive me, but you are Sasuke's daughter, aren't you?", Hinata asked, smiling. Kasumi felt some heat come to her cheeks.

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama."

"Oh come now, there's no need for stiff formalities. My name is Hinata; If I'm not wrong, your's is Kasumi.", Hinata replied, sounding almost... playfully annoyed.

"Sorry... I...it's a little...", Kasumi began, blushing when she couldn't finish. Hinata allowed herself a giggle.

"It's a bit intense. I know there are rumors about me, but even then you're sitting before a Hokage that you haven't met before.", Hinata supplied. "If it's making you uncomfortable, perhaps we should just skip to why you're here...?"

"Well... I need to know where Kira and Mana Avaron live... I need to drop off some work that they missed today.", Kasumi replied, glad Iruka had given her a cover story.

"...You're lying.", Hinata sighed, frowning slightly. "Kasumi, I understand this might be difficult to grasp, but the location of the Avaron residence is a secret for a reason. If you're going to go there, I need a good reason to disclose the location. Lying will not help."

"But how did-"

"Kasumi, I'm the Hokage. If I couldn't tell when an Academy Student was lying...", Hinata trailed off, leaving the rest to common sense. "I'm not saying you cannot go, but you need to tell me the truth so that I can decide."

"I...it's...it's kinda personal...", Kasumi replied, muttering the last part. She could feel the heat in her cheeks as the thoughts from class and the roof came back to her.

"Kasumi, I can silence the room and tell Aragawa-san to reschedule any appointments I have. This is actually very important, and you need to tell me if you want to see Kira or Mana."

"I...", Kasumi flushed as she thought of having to explain everything to a technical stranger, but she felt that her honor took priority. She _needed_ to apologize. "Please silence the room. I'm sorry that I'm..."

"It's alright dear.", Hinata replied, smiling as she made a few seals. Kasumi felt a rush of chakra as the room was silenced. "Now then, I'll have any appointments rescheduled as they arise. Please, take your time."

"I...I don't know where to begin...", Kasumi replied, suddenly realizing the scale of this.

"Why do you need to see Mana and Kira so desperately?", Hinata asked, seeing it written in the girl's face and posture. Kasumi winced slightly.

"Is... it that obvious?",Kasumi asked, getting a nod in return. "I... I need to apologize for something... something stupid that I did. I wasn't thinking and..."

"If you need to apologize for ill-spoken words, then you could wait until they return.", Hinata returned, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on them.

"I...it's different. I...I have this nagging feeling that... they might be gone because of me.", Kasumi offered as a shaky response, hanging her head a moment later, "Look, today has been really weird for me. On Saturday, a lot of what I thought was wrong became... I don't know. Today, it's like what little ground I have is turning into water beneath my feet."

Hinata closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the girl's discomfort. She could feel how this had started as something that only moderately bothered Kasumi, but now it seemed like it was ready to consume her. The Rokudaime let a light smile come to her face, remembering the powerful emotions of youth; she supposed that Kasumi's youth was one of the main factors in her current state. She was simply too naive to know what to do, or at least how to do it. Hinata, for the sake of respecting the girl's privacy and avoiding the maelstrom that seemed to be churning behind her eyes, refrained from entering the girl's mind.

"What do you need to apologize for? Tell me specifically.", Hinata finally replied. Once again, she saw Kasumi wince.

"I...", she started, about to explain what had happened at the park, but she remembered the bet. "...I wanted to just shut Father and Kimiko up; five seconds of silence was all I wanted from them.", she started; Hinata was silent, seeing a few 'cracks in the dam'. "No matter what jutsu I master, or how hard I train, all I hear from them is "Keep training" or "I could do that at half your age.". I wanted to do something that would shut them up; at first I wanted it to be a jutsu, but then... then I suddenly wanted something, _anything_, that would shut them up. I...overheard some girls talking that day in class; there were a lot of rumors about Kira's... sexuality, and they were bickering back and forth about it. That's when the damn idea came to me. Father forbade me from being friends with Kira, for whatever reason he has, even though I never really interacted with her anyway, and Kimiko is homophobic. I thought that if I could trick Kira into owing me a favor or two, I could get her to walk with me into the house and we could pretend we were gay... and then stop before my family completely went berserk. I know it could have had my five seconds in it though..."

"There... had been a mix-up a while before; Kira's sister, Mana, had come to drop off a note that excused Kira from class, but Iruka was running out of time with the sparring area. Seeing that they wore the same black cloak, he thought that Mana was Kira and sent her into the ring before she could explain. My... I only think people are worthy of being my friends if they beat me in a fight... which Mana did.", Kasumi seemed to be in a totally different location as she continued, as if the office was a thousand miles away. "I thought that, maybe, I could get Kira to agree to a match away from the academy; I said that Mana winning had made me question how strong Kira was and if being restricted by the academy rules was what kept her from winning. We decided on no kill shots, any elemental technique, we weren't to speak of it in public, and the loser owed the winner five favors."

"You lost.", Hinata remarked, more a statement than a question.

"She... it was amazing. I didn't think so at the time because of how it ruined my plan, but... she could use any element to her advantage. She didn't fight anything like Mana; she beat me with raw strength, a beautiful ferocity, and it was like her own shadow was a weapon.", Kasumi recalled, shifting a little, though she still seemed rather far off. "I was more annoyed than worried when I realized that I now owed Kira favors; I didn't know her well, but I knew she wasn't vindictive or mean. I... I was shocked when she told me that the first favor... was... to take both her and Mana on a date it the park."

"Kimiko... she's always been drilling it into my head that being gay was wrong... that it went against the natural order; she'd always end up at this weird 'Tab A, Slot B' speech. Eventually, I didn't ask or bring anything that could relate to it up in her presence; I started believing it myself, without reason really. Father... isn't as bad as Kimiko, but he does agree with her most of the time. After all that... I couldn't help but be... but be...", she paused, searching for a word.

"You thought it was wrong to be doing what you were.", Hinata supplied; she wondered if the girl knew she was shaking.

"I still went though; I made a bet and I intended to follow through. I thought that if I kept a bad attitude, they wouldn't ask something like that of me again. It... it got out of control though. Mana was a bit on edge, probably because she didn't trust me, but Kira... she was so... full of life. All she wanted was to find something that would make me cheer up. I kept thinking that... no matter what they said, they just wanted to do something bad... probably perverted. All they did was try to get to know me a little better, and I snapped in their faces. I... I flat out called their entire way of life wrong and...and...", Kasumi seemed to be unaware of the tears rolling down her face. Hinata let the girl continue, knowing that she probably needed to say this out loud and get it out of her system. "Kira just stood there... she tried to keep smiling for... I hope it wasn't for me, but she was crying even as she tried smile. She took off, and next thing I know, Mana has me thrown up against a tree, somehow far away from where we were. She... she said she wanted to kill me after what I had done...", Kasumi said, voice barely a whisper as she gently touched the spot on her neck where Mana had almost choked her. "But she said she couldn't... Mana said she and Kira loved me too much. She told me to stop using other people's opinions and get my own... then she dropped me and, even though she could have left me there, she told me how to get back to the park. Then... she just disappeared."

"Now... I don't even know anymore!", Kasumi cried, shaking. "I-I...t-today...I do-don't even know if I'm s-s-straight anym-more."

"...Kasumi, you need to calm down.", Hinata finally said, lacing her words with a suggestion; it was a power she rarely used. "Mana and Kira's father, Naruto Avaron, asked me if I knew if anything had happened to the girls recently; he said that they had come home Saturday evening and locked themselves in their room. Locked doors mean little to anyone in that house, but they refuse to even talk to their parents about what's wrong. They haven't been eating either.", Hinata explained, watching guilt crash down on the Uchiha before her. "...I will take you myself, but you must remember that you cannot tell anyone where they live. And keep in mind that this is your doing; you're the one that must apologize, and no one is going to hold your hand once you're inside. They might leave you alone so that you may speak to Mana and Kira alone, but I cannot predict how they will react."

"H-hai...", Kasumi responded, trying to dry her eyes on the back of her glove. Emotional outbursts were still somewhat new to her. Hinata made a few seals and the room was unsilenced.

"Aragawa-san, I need to leave for a few hours. Please reschedule any appointments for tomorrow.", Hinata said through the intercom. After an affirmative from the blond secretary, Hinata stood up and walked around the desk to Kasumi. "Is there anything you want to ask me before we go? I'll be using... something akin to shunshin."

"I...I don't think it's...", Kasumi started, blushing and looking away; she knew that she probably looked like a mess.

"Go ahead... and use these to dry your eyes; you look like you need them..", Hinata walked back around the desk and pulled out a box of tissues, which she handed to the girl. Kasumi took them and made an attempt at drying her eyes, though she felt that she was balancing on a needle-fine point: a little too far to one side or the other and she'd break down again. "What were you going to ask me?"

"Do... you know how to... tell...what...", Kasumi seemed to fumble with her words, unsure of whether or not she should be asking the Rokudaime this question.

"You want to know if I can tell you how to determine your sexuality?", Hinata asked, giggling a bit. Kasumi flushed, looking away. "But you specifically want to know if you are a lesbian and don't know it, no?"

"...yeah..."

"Kasumi, I'm probably one of the better people to ask about this.", Hinata assured her, smiling, "I do have a wife after all.". It had been years since she had seen a human turn that red; actually, Hinata was pretty sure that she was the only one to have turned that red.

"O-oh!", Kasumi was at a loss for words. "I-I...!...G-gomen!"

"There's nothing to apologize for; I've been happily married to another woman for twenty years, and I went through the same thing you're going through.", Hinata replied, still smiling, "I don't know how your mind works, and I don't want to influence you one way or another, however."

"But... can't you at least...?"

"Kasumi, to be perfectly honest... after that little outburst I do think you have feelings for Kira _and_ Mana; I also know about their little package deal, which I have a feeling you freaked out about as well.", Hinata said, her assumption getting a flushed and guilty nod. "You described Mana's fighting style as beautifully ferocious, with no lack of emotion when saying beautiful, and I recall your tone when describing Kira as amazing."

"So...I'm...", Kasumi seemed to have trouble saying it, and Hinata put a hand on her shoulder to make the girl look up.

"Being homosexual doesn't mean you want to screw everyone of the same gender, it doesn't mean anything bad; all it means is that you find a certain member, or members, of your gender attractive. Just because you like Mana and Kira... it doesn't really change anything. You're still Kasumi Uchiha, they're still Mana and Kira.", Hinata replied, sighing a moment later. "Forgive me; I might be one of the better people to talk to, but there are definitely better ones out there. I... have not had to counsel people on this before."

"Its... let's just go now. I'll... I'll know for sure when I'm done talking to Mana and Kira... I guess.", Kasumi replied, standing, "...I hope..."

"Hope is a wonderful thing to have.", Hinata replied with a smiled. "Now, do try to keep your balance. This is a little unnerving for most people the first time around."

Before Kasumi could ask what she was talking about, the world went black; it was eerily reminiscent of what had happened at the park, though this lasted slightly longer. When the world suddenly came back to clarity, another forest ironically, Kasumi found herself unable to feel the ground below her. Were it not for Hinata grabbing her, she would have fallen flat on her ass.

"Careful now; there are a lot of stairs in there, and I don't want you breaking anything that you might want to use later.", Hinata cautioned as Kasumi seemed to regain her balance.

"I'll be fine.", Kasumi replied.

"Fine stands for Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional, you know..."

"...yeah that sounds about right."

Hinata offered a reassuring smile and motioned behind the girl. Kasumi turned and felt her jaw drop at the sight of the massive castle.

"Wh-what that hell? This place is supposed to be abandoned... and... haunted...", she trailed off, seeing Hinata laughing.

"Naruto... enjoys his privacy. The myths and rumors of Ravenmourne Castle are his doing.", Hinata replied, walking up the large stone steps and up to the large wooden doors. Kasumi felt a bit of fear as she went up the steps; rumors didn't bother her, but the castle didn't exactly feel welcoming.

Kasumi jumped a bit at the loud noise that was produced when Hinata rapped her knuckles against the wood; the forest seemed dead around them, and the Kage was stronger than she looked if a simple wrist twitch could produce such a boom. Even more surprising was how quickly the door was answered, though the man that opened the door didn't put her nerves at ease.

"Hello Naruto-kun; how are you?", Hinata asked, totally unfazed by the towering vampire before her.

"Mana and Kira... have not improved. Kira has stopped crying, but I think it's because she's just run out of tears for the moment.", Naruto replied, not noticing the girl beside Hinata at first due to his own stress. Kasumi flushed at the sound of his silken, predatory voice, and her heartbeat drew his attention. "And you would be...?"

"This is Kasumi Uchiha; Sasuke-kun's daughter.", Hinata began, though Naruto cut her off.

"Hinata, I'm in no mood for pleasantries or babysitting; unless you found something, I don't want to waste my time here.".

"Promise me that you'll remain still for the next thirty seconds.", Hinata replied, "And I'll tell you why your daughters are so upset."

Kasumi was surprised to see the tower of a man suddenly become still; he hadn't been moving much before, but now... it was like he was suddenly made of stone.

"Thirty seconds.", was all he said.

"This is the girl that Mana and Kira are crushing on; after a long line of events that I will regale you with in a moment, she said some things to them that were ill thought-out and not of her own opinion. I have tasted the grief and sorrow on her words, and she truly desires to apologize to them.", Hinata quickly said, seeing the minuscule twitch in Naruto's form. The next fifteen seconds were spent in a tense silence.

"...I will go inform Tsukiko and Whedabra.", He finally replied, looking over at Kasumi afterwards. "If you cannot mend what you have done, then Sasuke will have a much more recent reason to hate me."

With that, he was suddenly gone. Hinata turned to Kasumi with a weak smile.

"He's normally very nice... but his family means the world to him.", she explained, "Come, I'll lead you to their room. After that... I'm sorry to say that you'll be on your own."

"Any advice?", Kasumi asked as they walked in, jumping slightly as the doors slammed behind her.

"Don't judge books by their covers, and be prepared to handle things that you might not be prepared for."

"...Helpful...", Kasumi muttered, though she tried to keep that in mind as they ascended the stairs. She had to admit, the castle was a bit more homey on the inside. She still felt a little unwelcome, and like something was watching her, but she tried to ignore that and focus on a good apology; she still hadn't thought of one. After the second flight of stairs, she paused when a headache suddenly struck her; it passed quickly, and she attributed it to going up the stairs as fast as she had been.

~xxXXXxx~

"I'm not going to lie, I still want to hurt her.", Whedabra muttered, hiding in the shadows with her husband; he had just invaded Kasumi's mind to see what had happened for himself. Whedabra and Tsukiko had gotten the "mental movie" through the mental link. "But I'll let her try and get out of the hole on her own."

"...If nothing else, she is legitimately sorry.", Naruto replied, feeling Tsukiko's annoyance from the library. She, unable to meld with shadows in her humanoid form, waited there for her husband and wife to return. The kitsune was far from happy, and had no qualms against letting her mates know that she wasn't fond of the thought of her daughter having feelings for a human. Still, she knew better than to act rashly; being mated to an assassin had taught her patience, if nothing else.

"Oh the throes of emotion...", Whedabra sighed, giggling a moment later. "I guess that the girls couldn't go through their childhoods without some kind of trouble."

"Youth has advantages... come, let's go to Tsukiko and make sure that she stays... in a charitable mood.", Naruto suggested, moving through the shadows with his wife.

~xxXXXxx~

"Good luck.", Hinata said, patting the girl on the back; Kasumi watched her go down the hall, finally disappearing as she rounded a corner.

She stood alone in front of yet another wooden door, and tried to calm herself by looking at it. Unfortunately, save for the almost childish sign that read "Mana and Kira's Room", it was a rather plain door. Kasumi took a deep breath and knocked twice.

No answer.

"Mana...Kira...? It's... Kasumi.", she called, trying not to be overly loud; she felt a bit self conscious when she heard the echo from the large hall. From the other side of the door, she could hear muffled talking, and finally she heard the sound of feet hitting the floor. The door cracked open an inch, and one of Mana's emerald eyes greeted her, widening in surprise a moment later.

"What are you doing here?", she asked, trying for her normal tone but failing miserably; Kasumi could tell she had been upset.

"I...we need to talk. I...need to apologize— to both of you.", Kasumi replied, feeling herself start to lose balance on the needle.

Mana seemed to weigh her options for a moment, though she eventually opened the door for her to come in. As Kasumi entered, she noticed that the girls still had their cloaks on, though they now seemed like they had been haphazardly thrown on in a hurry.

The room was fairly massive, with a rather lush carpet, yet it seemed rather sparse. A large desk that extended the length of the far wall, at least twenty feet or so, held various ninja gear and a couple of books from the nearby bookshelves. The wall opposite had a couple of dressers, and two doors; one looked to be a closet, and the other might have been a bathroom. Two large beds rested against the wall in front of her, each with its own canopy and curtains, the foot of each extending towards the door while the headboards were against the wall. On the left bed, holding her cloak closed around her obviously clothed form, was Kira.

"...go ahead and sit on my bed.", Mana said as she shut the door. Assuming that she meant the one on the right, Kasumi walked over and sat down, almost jealous of how soft it was. Mana came back and took a seat next to Kira, who seemed to move a little closer to her sibling. "...well?"

Kasumi shifted, uneasily, realizing that she still hadn't thought of a good apology. After all this time, she hadn't managed to pull something together.

"I...I need to explain a few things; please don't interrupt me.", she asked, quietly. She didn't get a response, and took it as a sign to start.

"My father and sister are both accomplished ninja, and my father started training me to be a ninja when I was four years old. At first, it was nothing but praise; then, when my sister started shooting through the ninja ranks, most of it stopped. Every time I accomplished something, my father just told me to get back to training; Kimiko would tell me that she could do the same thing at a much younger age. Normally my mother would at least tell me good job, but her pregnancy has been leaving her resting in bed recently. I... I mastered several techniques, including using the kawarimi with only one hand... but I never got anything for it; not even a pat on the back or a smile. Maybe it was just because it happened so many times in quick succession, but I started to want silence... I wanted to do something that would shut them both up, and that would be praise enough."

"At first, I wanted it to be a jutsu. I thought, maybe if I can master an A or S rank, then they'll be stunned silent. When that route began to look unlikely... I guess I got desperate. I wanted something, anything, that would just keep them silent for five seconds; it wasn't about praise at that point. Then, on the day you showed up Mana, I had an idea...", Kasumi said, the smile on her face somehow displaying how mush she regretted that idea. "There were two girls chattering on behind me while I tried to think of something that might work, and then they started talking about... well, there are rumors about your sexuality, Kira. They're true, I suppose, but it gave me an idea; my father has a problem with your family, for some reason, and my sister is... not fond of gay couples. I thought that if I could walk in with you and pretend to be gay... it would shut them up."

Mana looked like she wanted to say something, and Kasumi was surprised that she didn't. Kira, on the other hand, looked hurt.

"I...I knew that I couldn't just ask you to do it, so I made the bet with you. I... it's...I don't like the fact that I did it at all, and I'm disgusted that I was so ready to just...use you. In the end though, the plan backfired and you won the bet.", Kasumi sighed, struggling to keep a straight tone while her eyes watered. She half wondered why this affected her so deeply; she normally wasn't a very emotional person. "I was surprised that you were actually... like that, and slightly more shocked by your first favor. I... listen, I grew up with my sister constantly going off on a rant that usually involved something about Tab A and Slot B... I didn't really understand it, and I don't know why she's that way, but it eventually got to me. There was never any argument for the other side, and..."

"What I said... it wasn't what I meant.", Kasumi managed to choke out, on the verge of sobbing again. "I-I... the incest... still bothers me a little, but you two are different from... it bothered me because of how Kimiko and I interact. The... I mean... being gay... I...", Kasumi paused, unable to string together words at the moment. She was glad that the sisters were giving her time to get her composure back. "I...I've thought about it, and it was wrong for me to say the things that I did. I'm sorry.". Kasumi bowed her head, hands clasp tightly in her lap.

Kasumi could feel something else at the tip of her tongue that wanted to be said, but she hoped that one of the sisters would cut her off before she could say it. Unfortunately, neither did, and she couldn't stop herself from continuing.

"And... after a lot of thought, consideration... and admittedly a lot of crying and emotional stress... I think that it... might have been _hypocritical_ to... say being gay was wrong.", Kasumi added, hoping the stress on the word would convey her meaning. "Because... I...think I am... for... you two."

That was it. Everything that she had weighing on her shoulders had been said, and she felt like she was floating; still, she knew that a lot depended on how they reacted. Mana seemed to be trying to find the words to respond, while Kira seemed... at a complete loss for words.

"Apology accepted...", Mana began, opening her eyes to make eye contact, "But... I don't know if I should believe you.". The words felt like blows, and Kasumi hung her head, looking hurt.

"I... I would understand if you two don't want to speak to me; I... I don't know if I even deserve to be forgiven, all things considered.", Kasumi started, "I... I don't even know what to make of myself; I was so sure of who I was this morning... and now I don't even..."

"Kasumi-chan, come over here.", Kira finally said, making the Uchiha look up. The red-head moved to the side and patted the space between herself and Mana. "We forgive you... but if we're going to talk about... _this_... then we should be a little closer.". Kasumi looked to Mana, slightly surprised the see the tough girl blushing slightly.

"...It's hard to argue with Kira...and I suppose I should ease up on you.", Mana admitted, scratching her cheek and looking away, "It's... complicated. Just get over here."

Kasumi, blushing red at the thought of being between the sisters, stood and walked over. She hesitantly sat down, realizing that she was a lot closer to them than she had thought.

"Alright...this is probably going to be awkward enough... but...", Mana started, sighing, "Were you saying that... you wanted to...?"

"...I don't know. I... think I'm... that way now... and, really, you two are the only ones that... I would be with... but...", Kasumi was stumbling over her word, well aware of the fact that she probably looked and sounded like a fool.

"You're not sure.", Kira supplied, smiling softly. Kasumi felt her heart skip a beat at the sight. "Have you... never been in a relationship before?"

"I... had a boyfriend once. We never got past a kiss on the cheek though... and after a couple of months he dropped me like a rock... once my father found out.", Kasumi sighed, sobering up at the memory.

"Well... and I wouldn't do this normally...", Kira trailed off, a playful smirk on her face, though she was blushing too. It was an odd look, Kasumi realized, given that her eyes were still a little puffy. "But... do you want us to kiss you? So you can compare the feeling and maybe get a definite answer."

"W-what?", Kasumi asked, flushed. It didn't sound bad, two attractive women kissing her, but she just felt like there should be more to it.

"Barou...", Mana muttered, gently taking Kasumi's chin and making her look straight ahead. Kira's idea had been a little too tempting for the young dragoness to let pass. She closed the gap and kissed the blushing cheek, feeling the warmth of Kasumi's blood on her lips.

"My turn.", Kasumi heard Kira say, and before she could react she had another pair of lips were pressed against her other cheek. It was far from unpleasant, and definitely better than her memories of the rough impact of her ex.

"Have you decided yet? You're only getting the one.", Mana remarked, pulling back. Kasumi was flushed, and the twins could hear her heart pounding away.

"I... can I give you one? Just... so I know that too?", Kasumi asked, flushed. She tried to direct the question at both of them, but she wasn't sure which was to look.

"...Not me. You got the one.", Mana replied, shaking her head. If Kasumi wanted more, she'd have to be with them.

"Mana... would you be mad if I let her?", Kira asked, leaning forward to look at her sister.

"It's your cheek. She got one kiss from me for free; the rest need a subscription.", Mana replied, shrugging.

"Well... alright then.", Kira replied, trying a light laugh, she sat back up and turned to offer her cheek to Kasumi. "You can do it once... but you better not be faking for free kisses.", Kira warned, more playful than anything else. Kasumi was a little envious of how at ease she was. She leaned in to kiss her, but saw that the hood of her cloak was hanging over her cheek.

"Your hood's in the way.", Kasumi muttered, reaching up and hooking a finger in the hood.

"Wait a sec!", Mana shouted, surprised. It was too late, however, as Kasumi had already pulled the hood down; Kira's hands had come up to try and catch it, but they hadn't moved fast enough. The three of them were still as Kira's ears were now on full display. What semblance of calm that had gripped the sisters was momentarily gone as they waited for the screams and shouts.

"You... have fox ears.", Kasumi said flatly. Kira and Mana exchanged a look before turning their eyes to Kasumi.

"You're not screaming... doesn't this freak you out?", Kira asked.

"I... might just... actually, I'm very sure that I'm just emotionally spent. Today has been rough for me.", Kasumi replied. "I mean... this was unexpected, but I just don't have the energy to freak out. By the time I do, I'll probably be used to the idea."

"...Right. Gonna take mine off then.", Mana sighed, flipping off her cloak and letting her tail come out of the shadow.

"What color are your ears... oh, horns...", Kasumi said, turning around. She saw the tail out of her peripherals and looked down. "Wow... do you have a tail too?", she asked, looking back to Kira. The girl flushed and took off her cloak as well, letting her tail come out. "Huh... I guess that's why you two were always wearing the cloaks... that would have been hard to explain."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but your day must have sucked if this isn't bothering you.", Mana remarked, getting a giggle from Kasumi.

"I'm not normally an emotional person. Today... was an emotional day.", she replied. "Out of sheer curiosity... uh... what are you two anyway?"

"W-well... you know how I said we're half-sisters?", Kira asked, knowing this might kill it. "We have the same dad, but different mothers; that's why we look alike, but why I have fox ears and a fox tail while Mana has horns and a dragon tail."

"Kira's mother is the Kyuubi no Kitsune, my mother is an ancient Dragon of Darkness, and our Father is the No-Life King; the strongest vampire in the world.", Mana said, sighing, "It's actually easy to explain, it's just a bitch getting people to believe us."

"Well... wait, what?", Kasumi asked, the words catching up with her. "The... Kyuubi is supposed to be dead; the Yondaime killed it."

"Yeah well... grandpa was kind of a dick.", Mana said with a shrug. "It's a long story. Now are you going to kiss my sister or not?"

Kasumi flushed, having forgotten why she had removed Kira's hood in the first place. She leaned over and pressed her lips to Kira's cheek, noting that it was quite possibly the softest thing she had ever felt. Kasumi pulled back after a second, eyes closed. A light smile formed, but she seemed to be wincing like she just had a realization that lightly stung.

"I... don't suppose those other four favors can be dates too?", Kasumi asked, opening her eyes. She blushed and offered a weak smile, "I... err... I haven't done this before, so it might sound bad, but... uh..."

"Come on; it's not going to hurt you.", Mana goaded, poking the girl in the side.

"Leave her alone Mana... she'll get it.", Kira chastised, though she was holding back a giggle.

"Can I...? I mean, do you...? I would like to...", Kasumi scrambled for the right words; it had been sudden, and she was trying to save some semblance of dignity. "I...I don't know how to ask one person out, let alone two!", Kasumi cried in defeat, "Can we just be girlfriends? I want to be with both of you."

Kasumi flushed when her words caught up with her, and she hesitantly looked back and forth between the sisters. Mana was smiling, as was Kira.

"We'll make you a deal... keep an open mind, through _all_ of it, and we can have a relationship. All three of us.", Kira offered, smiling.

"O-of course! I promise.", Kasumi quickly replied, heartbeat soaring. "U-uh... n-now what?"

"Now you get a tight hug, and we go tell our parents that we're together and that they shouldn't kill you.", Mana replied, giggling. It was an odd noise, yet a rather enchanting one. "Kisses come after dates, so be sure to be good, neh?"

"They... wouldn't actually kill me, right?", Kasumi asked, adding a nervous chuckle. Her next words were cut off as two pairs of arms wrapped around her, giving her a feeling of intimacy that had been previously unknown to her. They were unintentionally binding her upper arms, but she still managed to at least hug their lower backs.

"Don't worry about it. They just get a little touchy sometimes.", Kira said, holding tight. She was half scared that it was a dream, but Kasumi's scent was too strong to be anything but real.

"How about we try the park again?", Mana asked, loosening her grip to regard the two of them. "We went there because we could seem like three friends hanging out; that's still valid, since no one was around for...yeah...", she trailed off, not wanting to kill the moment.

"That... sounds fine.", Kira replied, "What do you think?"

"If...if we're going to the park, then it doesn't count as a favor.", Kasumi replied, "I... you still have four after it."

"We're going to have a lot more than four or five dates, Kasumi-chan.", Mana countered, smiling.

"...Then what will you do for the favors? I lost the bet... I owe Kira.", Kasumi asked, looking at the fox-girl.

"I... how about... you pay for the first four dates, and we'll start splitting it evenly after that?", Kira suggested. Kasumi nodded, blushing at the thought of dates with the two. Dating... it was such a weird thing to think of now that she...

The thought was pleasant, she realized. She, Kasumi Uchiha, was now in a relationship with Kira Avaron and Mana Avaron. She didn't know if she could call it love, but she really wanted to find out now.

"Hey... can we keep hugging for a while?", She asked, not caring that it wasn't the most eloquently worded request.

The embrace was warm and welcoming; something that she wanted to last.

* * *

><p>Well, there you go.<p>

Once again: Sorry for the long ass wait.

Barou, to my understanding, is a much more affectionate form of Baka. A term of endearment, if you will.

Well, Ja Ne, My Freaky Darlings. I'll try to get the next chapter as soon as I can.


	5. Dear Diary

We meet again, my Freaky Darlings!

Here's the next chapter for Symphony of the Hunter's Moon. For those of you who don't know what the Hunter's Moon is, it's basically the full moon that occurs right after the Harvest Moon, near the autumn equinox. It's red light, which also garnered it the title of Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon, was considered the perfect light for Hunters in Europe; some say that the Native Americans used it as well for the same purpose.

There, now you just learned something from Fanfiction.

On a more story-related note, I want to make a comment on the Yuri in this story. There won't be any sex for a while, if things go as I'm currently planning them; there might be "sexy" scenes, but no one is getting laid for a while. Except Whedabra; she's always getting laid. As much as it might annoy some of you, this will be a bit fluffy for a while, with some fighting sprinkled in.

**I'm sorry for the delay, and the shortness of this chapter; I haven't written anything in a while, and this was more to help me try to get back into the groove without ruining the story than anything else.**

Alright, let's get this started!

* * *

><p><em><span>April 26<span>_

_Mana, since I know you're going to read this, let me save you the time; I'm writing about our date with Kasumi.  
><em>

_Anyway...Dear Diary,_

_No, that sounds wrong. I've said that too much. Screw it._

_Today was fairly awesome for a Tuesday; I normally hate them(see previous entries). We had another sparring day, and I managed to beat Kasumi without my magic! Haru was his usual loud self, Isamu played some weird victory music, and Akira did her best not to rub it in Kasumi's face; I know that she knows about us, and Isamu has hinted about it, but I'm glad they haven't told Haru. He's a great guy, but he can't close his mouth to save his life._

_I wish Kasumi wouldn't keep bothering me about my magic though; I know that I could be at the top of the academy with it(Provided they count them as ninjutsu), but... I really wish she'd understand why Mother is so against me practicing magic. Or better yet, I wish Mother would understand why I want to. I know it's not a "warrior's art", but it's just as destructive, and I can actually control it! I know how strong I am when I just listen to instincts, but It's so much more effective to just use magic. Mana's the warrior of the family, not me. If mother would just let me show her what I can do with spells, she'd lighten up... I know it!_

_I'm getting off topic. After class, Kasumi asked if we were up for our second date; she had told her parents that she was going to be studying at the library again so we were safe. The makeup date was admittedly awkward, but this one went much better. We went to one of Father's favorite childhood restaurants, Ichiraku Ramen, and had a good time. He says it used to be a stand, but now it's a fair sized building; he says that's because he donated a fair bit of money to them, as repayment for a kindness they had shown him. They must have remembered, because when Mana mentioned it(in passing, I might add), the waitress got all excited and we ended up with our own private booth. It was on the second floor of the restaurant(Father really didn't have much use for money, explaining his generosity), and near the "back". It was a really calm and quiet atmosphere, unlike the lower floor._

_Kasumi seemed to calm down once we were settled in; I think she's still scared of her father finding out about us. I don't blame her; Uncle Itachi says Sasuke can be kind of a dick, though he has his reasons. We managed to talk about a couple of things; I don't really recall any particular topic. She was really curious about us, in more ways than one; more in the "new girlfriend" way instead of the "curious human" way, though._

_She was a little... worried, I guess, about dating Damphyrs, especially ones like us, once she could sit down and think about it. I'm actually really glad she brought it up; I don't exactly expect her to trust us right off the bat, but trust takes time, especially in relationships. And Kami knows that her instincts must be telling her to run. At the same time she's smart enough to know we're not going to eat her... well, not like that... okay, bad thoughts, bad thoughts  
><em>

_Still, I'm glad things went as they did. After it was over(And Kasumi thought it was kinda funny we liked ramen for some reason) We gave each other some good hugs and went home. I could tell that Kasumi wanted another kiss, but she needs to wait a bit. Mana wants to wait for at least one more date before we get to cheek kissing, and I have to agree with her. We really want to sync up, so we don't send mixed messages or whatever, but I'd really like to start lip-kissing soon after that. Tongue... is up in the air right now._

_I'm trying not to plan things out too much. These things are supposed to work better if you fly by the seat of your pants anyway. What does that mean anyway? And why am I asking you; you're a book._

_Ja Ne_

__~xxX**X**Xxx~_  
><em>

_May 13_

_I don't know how Kira convinced me to start keeping a diary(Probably so she can read it and get revenge for me reading hers.). I think it was with her evil flirty powers. No one thinks she has them... but to a horny dragoness, she does!_

_Alright, sure, it's only been a few weeks, maybe a month, since we last had sex, but we stopped. I mean, like stopped dead. No weaning period, just stopped. I know it's because Kasumi can't join us, and we know it would be unfair, but still..._

_I guess it's going to be a few more weeks, probably a month or two, before we have sex again. Definitely two months, maybe more. It's self-torture, I know. _

_Kira made a decent argument after our last date a couple of days ago; I was going to let Kasumi start kissing my cheek, and kiss her's in return, then wait another few dates before "lip-kisses", but Kira said it would be okay to just bundle it into one package. Kasumi was fairly thrilled, though we all agree that making out needs to wait a while. _

_We're all eager, that's obvious. We're trying to hide it from Kasumi, and she's trying to hide it from us, but we're all eager. For what...? That might vary. Sex, physical contact, and probably that sense of security that love brings, most likely. We know jumping it will kill us though, and it's painful to just wait for it. Still, it's going to be worth it. The security, that is. The sex will be fun too, but I'm actually looking forward to the deep seated trust._

_For now, we've decided that the kissing is fine. I won't admit it to her(instincts send really weird messages), but Kasumi has very... enticing lips. Soft, and I can smell how sweet a deeper kiss would be. Kira said she only knows that they're soft, and maybe my senses are a little stronger, but I don't know. Kasumi told me that my kisses are a little rough, but that she didn't mind. I'm a little embarrassed to say that turned me on. Kami knows that I like a lot of things rough, and I'm a little scared I might hurt Kasumi at some point, her own willingness be damned. I need to warn her about that, next time we have some time alone. I know I'll have to mention sex, and it'll get her blushing and me horny; Kira's likely to do both._

_It's early to be thinking about sex, I know, but..._

_I'm more worried about her safety than my sex drive. Kira is soft, and can be gentle; I don't know if I'm soft, and I know that I'm rough. I've cracked stone with my tail, and I don't wanna know what I could do to Kasumi if I lost control for a moment, and my orgasms tend to last more than a moment and involve a lot of flailing._

_Bah, I'm getting turned on with all these little mental images. I wrote down my thoughts, so my job is done. Maybe I'll try and do this regularly or something._

_Mana out._

_~xxX**X**Xxx~_

_July 11_

_Wow, I seriously haven't picked this up in ages. I think the last time I wrote in you was... let me check. Yeah, five years ago. Wow._

_Mana and Kira told me that they were keeping diaries and writing about our dates(but I know they write about other stuff), so I thought I'd start. Uhh..._

_Well, today was our 3-month anniversary; I know it doesn't really mean much, and we couldn't do anything today, but they still remembered. I don't know why I'm blushing so hard, writing this, especially since it's a book that no one but me will ever see, but they did give me something. I didn't expect much, what with it being a quarter of a year and knowing that it wasn't exactly a big thing for card companies(Kira says I'll be funnier if I stop trying so hard, but I don't think it's working), but...err._

_We were kissing on the roof of the academy, our little hang out, and... they both added tongue. I know it's really nothing to be excited about, since it's so common, but they've never done that before. I didn't know what to do, but it felt so good. Kira went first, and she tasted... good. I can't pick a flavor, and I know "good" is not a flavor, but still. Mana... was interesting. I think she's slowly making me like small amounts of pain. Her kisses, with tongue, burn a little bit; she said it's the poison in her "Breath Weapon". I guess not all dragons breath fire. It didn't taste bad, and the poison..._

_Kami I'm blushing right now. The poison made me a little light headed, but it wore off after a few minutes. Mana says it's impossible to build immunity to a dragon's poison, so there will always be that pleasant little side-effect. _

_They also gave me one of their favorite mangas, my own copy of the first part mind you... which turned out to be porn. Yuri. It was... an interesting conversation. In their defense, there's only supposed to be one sex scene, and the rest is supposed to be an "Enchanting love story". I haven't really picked it up yet, but it's hiding in a box under my bed. I don't know how women are supposed to have sex with each other, and I'm too scared to ask Mana or Kira. Kinda the same reason I'm a little worried about picking up the book. _

_I'm switching topics before I get too tempted to stop and get the book._

_Right... Oh, things are starting to settle down a little here at the house. Mom had the baby, a cute little boy that ended up with the name Shiranui. He's a bit chubby, but I guess babies are just like that. He eats, sleeps, and makes terrible smells, but somehow he's cute enough to make up for that. Mom... well, we were scared there for a while. She was pretty old to be having a baby, and it was hard on her, but she pulled through. Kimiko is taking more missions, though generally C ranks, to bring in a little more income, since she plans to take some time off and help mom care for him in a month or so. We don't really need the money, but it's best to be prepared. I'm helping the best I can, but I'm not too good with babies, and the genin exam is tomorrow._

_It... feels really surreal. I'm going to be a genin after tomorrow; I know I can pass easily, and so can Mana and Kira. But... well great, now I'm worried about that. I'd love to be on the same team as them, but I might be distracted. It might be lonely without them(I still have my rule about friends, dammit!), but I can't decide between comfort and effectiveness. It's not like we could show any public affection anyway. _

_I have to thank Mana and Kira for getting me to use you again. I know you're just a book, but It's nice to get things off of my chest. I'm not ready to talk to them about all my problems, admittedly because I'm a little worried about them laughing, but I look forward to the day that I am. Right now... well, I'm going to look at that manga. I've got my gear for tomorrow, and I have an hour before I need to go to sleep._

_I just hope it doesn't leave me mentally undressing my girlfriends. I still get chills from saying that. My _girlfriends_._

_Well, good night._

* * *

><p>And there you go. Like I said, I'm sorry it's so short, but I needed something to get me back into the groove. More specifically, it was to get rid of the "where the fuck was I going with this?" feeling.<p>

I'll get to work on the next chapter once I get a bit of sleep. Dunno when It'll be posted. Hopefully before school starts.

Ja Ne, My freaky darlings.

**On a side note, remember that these were diary entries. They aren't grammatically perfect, and there's bound to be a spelling error or two somewhere. It's annoying to some of you, but spell check doesn't exist in a diary, and sometimes you won't catch yourself misspelling something. They're also different from my general style of writing, and I tried to make each a little different. They sorta started to blend after the first little bits though.**

**If there's any confusion, this is the order of the entries:**

**Kira**

**Mana**

**Kasumi  
><strong>


End file.
